Parallels
by sirensoundwave
Summary: Everybody has secrets. That doesn't mean they are always known to those keeping them. Events are set in motion revealing that Young Justice and the Justice League don't know each other, their enemies, or themselves nearly as well as they would like to believe. Oh yeah, the world might end soon too...better get on that. Like, now. Starts off chaotic but makes more sense as you read.
1. Satellite

I'm baaack! Here's the beginning of my sequel. Before we begin...

I had to take down the lyrics. But, the chapter titles will stay the same. For the full effect of each chapter, look up Parallels on adultfanfiction. My name there is still sirensoundwave.

I recommend that you read "The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions" then "A Mother's Love" before this. While not totally necessary, it would save you some trouble later on.

The song lead ins will continue but will become more eclectic. For example bands I'm considering are RHCP, Cage the Elephant, Incubus, Seether, Offspring, Skillet, Rise Against, Saliva, Nickelback, Rage Against the Machine, Cake, AFI, After Midnight Project, Gorillaz, Rob Zombie, AWOLNATION, AC/DC, etc. That is not a guarantee that they will be but I need to have a greater range to chose from considering what I want to do with the story.

Comics are often used to address issues relevant to their time period. This story will contain material that may make some people uncomfortable such as: gender and age ambiguity, social issues (including but no limited to homosexuality, racism, child abuse, drug use, mental illness, etc) Nothing warranting an M rating but it will be in here. For example it was stated in "The Road to Hell" that Sylphine has a male lover but for most of her time in that story, she appeared as a little girl no older than 10. SHE IS NOT. The reason for her behavior is stated in that same story. There are other things to come but you will have to wait and see. If any of that squicks you out, feel free to jump ship now. No one will think any less of you as you have the right to choose what you read. No sarcasm intended. Just don't bitch about it later because you also chose to ignore the warning. Much sarcasm intended.

I will be screwing with astronomy, the zodiac and Greek mythology in general to suit my own needs so don't be surprised if stuff seems off.

Same goes for the DC continuities as a whole but the major portion of the story will be part of the Young Justice universe (Earth-16). There are characters I like and ones I don't. Ones I want to show up but probably won't and ones I have no choice but to leave in though I'd rather not.

Please remind me when I forget my disclaimers, I seem to do it a lot... ;-P

The official line break indicator will be, (ahem...) *I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!* Yes, there is an inside joke there. Look at the main characters listed.

This story will be long and focus on a lot of characters not just the two I set for the summary. Because of this, I get to do chapters that deal primarily with back stories and character development more so than my last story.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Rise Against starts us off with Satellite. Onward!

Chapter 1

Satellite

Kid Flash was trying to drown out the incessant noise of his friends heartbeats, breathing...dear god did Robin always wheeze like that? What the HELL was that buzzing sound? I was coming from EVERYWHERE. Not to mention the sound of Superman's voice was really pissing him off. He couldn't explain it but he was suddenly so angry at the big blue boyscout. So angry he punched a nearby wall and there was now a substantial crater and spider cracks up to the ceiling that needed repair.

Superboy was doing his best impression of a pinball; ricocheting about the cave encased in a lavender ball of energy as Wolf watched his master helplessly. Every time he managed to stop he'd slip or bump into or heck touch something and off he went again. He never thought trying to sit in a chair would be hazardous. Sphere had tried to cancel out the inertia field only to get embedded in a far wall for her trouble. The Kryptonian clone understood the following string of beeps and warbles to be every curse word in the book; despite the concussion he just knew he had. He wisely chose to remain motionless on the floor once he stopped again.

Rocket and Robin sat on the sofa side by side. Both were both terrified of opening their mouths. The young scientist to be had already shattered the main computer screen. She had narrowly dodged an incoming Sphere when she 'eeped' loudly in shock. Only it came out as a supersonic Canary Cry. That she couldn't turn off in any way other than shutting and covering her mouth with both hands. So, of course she could assist Superboy or even tell him there was an off switch on the belt without possibly blowing out his eardrums in the process.

No matter what, everything that came out of the team ninja's mouth was backwards with bizarre consequences. He had tried to see if Bats was okay after the cause of the explosion just vanished. His mentor was still lying in the infirmary unconscious from the events prior to said explosion. The power had been knocked out so his monitors were offline and the Batman was making a disturbing gurgling noise. Suddenly hysterical, the boy wonder pleaded for his mentor to say something. Anything. Guess what happened? What came out was "Gnihtyna, gnihtemos yas ecurB esealp! Yako eb!". Robin was unsure whether to laugh, cry or what when his surrogate father jumped up and began sing "Ragtime Gal" and dance like the WB frog before falling back onto the bed as if nothing had happened.

That was six minutes ago when they were now waiting for the League to show up after sending the distress signal from his wrist computer.

He had tried to tell Zatanna to slow down a moment ago. Watching her zip about and talk at mach 2 was grating on his already frayed nerves. B-ut what came out was "Annataz nwod wols!".

The apprentice magician had been grateful at first to not be blurring by. During the attack she had been running towards a downed Artemis but afterwards she couldn't get her feet to stop! She had bowled over nearly everyone who arrive afterwards but avoided Superman expertly. She had no interest in imitating a bug v. windshield by slamming into him at 70+ mph. But now she was moving at a snail's pace, even her thoughts were slow and kinda hazy. She wanted to throw up.

Artemis was doing her best keep from literally drowning on dry land. Her lungs were on fire, feeling like an elephant was standing on her chest. The gills on her throat were constricting violently, unable to process the oxygen in the air. Her field of vision was slowly being eaten away around the edges by black dots. It did not help when pipes began to creak dangerously. The water inside was attempting to aid her.

Aqualad quickly recognized she was having the same problem all Atlanteans had their first few trips to the surface world. Wait...can you still be an Atlantean without gills? Nevermind. Her panic washed over him like a rip tide. Why did everyone look so short? And what happened to his arms? Refocusing on his distressed friend, he drug her to the kitchen, filled the sink and dunked her head in the water. Green Arrow was about to freak out until she gave the thumbs up sign while submerged.

Though it was kind of odd to see a 10 ft white thing standing over his protege, one long gangly arm,holding her head under the water.

Miss Martian was experimentally poking her tan freckled face. It was real, not an illusion! She was so happy only to instantly be consumed by overwhelming depression, guilt and a fear being alone. Not being able to feel anyone's mind made her feel vulnerable and cold inside.

That left an angry, scowling Black Canary who was glaring at everyone and resisting the urge to punch Kid Flash. Somehow this had to be his fault. But if what she thought happened did happen, she'd only shatter every bone in hand and possibly arm.

Two little kids sat in the middle of the madness looking peaceful as they slept. One had long black braids down her back and chestnut skin. The other spiked platinum blonde hair contrasting his skin that was pale as snow. Both in plain white frocks. The two were curled up against each other on the opposite end of the couch dead to the world. They were soo cute and seemed fine.

What... the... fuck?

That was the collective thought if the Leaguers as they looked at the chaotic scene involving their proteges. It was official, both teams hated this new villain with a passion.

To think this all started with the teens begging for the night off to go to the summer festival at Happy Harbor High.

*36 hours prior*

"Okay this is gonna work out how?" Roquette yawned. "And why are we up at the asscrack of dawn?"

Since it was the end of the school year, the League decided it wouldn't hurt to have YJ stay under one roof for the summer. The only ones still going to school were Conner and Megan. It was mainly an issue of truancy as Conner had spent the last 2 days sleeping in the student commons and the Bumblebees were finishing plans for the Annual Summer Festival to officially start summer vacation.

A lot had happened since New Years. There were at least two official couples now and other relationships had been put to the test.

Despite their New Year's kiss, Raquel and Kaldur had merely become close friends. They entertained the notion of romance for all of an hour into the new year before deciding to get to know each other first. 3 months into that, the realized friendship was probably a better route.

Raquel balanced her time between Dakota and Happy Harbor much to the chagrin of her former crew. Though they did not know exactly why she stopped hanging out with them, they strongly suspected "that oreo talkin' brother with the fucked up eyes" that visited her and her aunt for dinner a few times had something to do with it. Despite the fact that she had dropped them like the bad habits they were a few months before that. Future Leaguers couldn't hang out with juvenile delinquents who had no intention of reforming their criminal ways. She did miss them but she realized that even heroes couldn't save everyone.

Kaldur was settling into a more permanent life in the surface world quite well. He attended school with Megan and Conner, standing out just as socially awkward as the two of them. After school he spent much of his time doing homework, swimming at the beach near his apartment (there was a pool but it contained far too much chlorine for his liking) hanging out with Raquel or just meditating. He had been looking into being a lifeguard or swim instructor at the beach for the summer. Raquel's aunt adored him and the positive influence he was having on her sweet niece.

Megan and Connor were steadies much to no one's surprise. Both were equally clueless about earth cluture so it took the pressure off goofing up in front of each other. Megan was getting much better at cooking, especially since discovering Food Network and the Cooking Channel. Connor helped too sometimes. The team was often treated to kind of the ordinary dishes like duck l'orange, bacon cheeseburger meatloaf, turkey with lavender and fig dressing, and West African Peanut Soup. All in one week. The same week Kaldur's peanut allergy was discovered. There was now an emergency epi-pen in the kitchen and several in the medical wing.

Not everyone was doing so great.

Zatanna wasn't adjusting to her father's sacrifice very well and that was part of the reason she and Robin didn't last a month. Robin had noticed strange scars peaking out from under her clothes a times and realized she had become a cutter. He felt stupid for not seeing the signs until Canary reminded him that as a sorceress, she was able to hide her handiwork better than most. They had a massive fight that resulted in her being taken off of active duty for some time to receive counseling with Canary. She had only recently returned to the team in hero capacity but still lived at the cave because of her situation.

Poor Robin blamed himself for not being strong enough to help someone he really cared for through an emotional rollercoaster. He knew that he himself was somewhat emotionally stunted (living with Bruce had not helped that at all) but never realized how bad it was until he tried to enter into a romantic relationship. The Boy Wonder became increasingly sullen and broody, culminating in a fist fight with Wally. His best friend.

Wally got a black eye for just asking how the little bird was doing in March. Right after having an arguement with Artie over how bizarre he had been acting himself. Robin twisted his ankle in the resulting brawl.

And let's not forget the fiasco with Roy. He wasn't around for the early morning wake up call. Being discovered blacked out in his apartment with a needle still in his arm by Ollie didn't exactly scream ready for duty. Especially seeing as it was the second time. He was currently in rehab and had been since about Wally and Robin's fight. With any luck he would be ready to at least come home in a few days though.

More time to expand on the successes and train wrecks that had occurred in the last six months later.

The team was gathered in the den in varying states of undress. Megan was sleepily clutching the bunny Connor had given her as a present and rubbing her eyes. The Boy of Steel held her in his lap wide awake. He and Wally were both usually up at 5am anyhow. It was too early for Zatanna to be lucid and she was dozing lightly in her chair. Kaldur and Robin were both used to early rising but it did not make them morning people. Artemis was contemplating how to hurt her sweet but idiotic boyfriend.

Wally had called the meeting to discuss Operation Hooky. The festival was in a few days and they had all been looking forward to going. Previous requests for the night off were met with a stern no citing that it would be a prime time for criminal mischief and they would need to be on duty. Not cool! The League managed to find time to have their own lives, why should they be denied the same? It was just a high school sponsored community festival. What could possibly go wrong?

Sigh...when would they learn not to tempt Murphy's Law? Fated tended to deliver nutshots to those who did.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

So the story begins. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows for our heros. What the hell happened in a day and a half? Stay tuned for more coming soon. Reviews are always appreciated but not required. Sirensoundwave out.


	2. Monsters

Hello. Um, wow this has a lotta hits. Much love guys.

Anyway we've gotten an intro to part of the hero side, let's peak in on some of the...antagonists and glancing revisit the teaser blurb from the last chapter of "The Road to Hell". Here be OCs but...are they really?

Quick thing about the songs I pick. I believe that music is the ultimate uniter and such a multifaceted means of expression. Twenty people could hear the same song and get twenty different meanings. That's okay. I get all my lyrics and their meanings from either , from the artist sites or my personal interpretation. Doesn't mean I'm right and I understand that. The songs and specifically the verses I use fit their chapters in my opinion. Got questions about my selections, I don't mind answering em ;-P

**Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?**

**Matchbook Romance leads the way with Monsters.**

Chapter 2

Monsters

In an unknown location, another meeting was underway. Six figures dressed in nearly identical black hooded robes dotted with stars sat around a large crystal viewing orb. The only way to tell them apart was by voice and the emblem on the clasps at their throats.

"So, Sagittarius, how goes your endeavors? I hear good things about your progress." A soft feminine voice spoke. It did not belong to any one visible.

"Quite well mother. Roy is recovering from his overdose and as subsequent withdrawal as well as can be expected according to his doctors and therapist. Still...relapse is always an option if necessary. Superman is still in the doghouse with Ms. Lane since she got her exclusive expose on the Super Deadbeat from yours truly in March. And now his mother is livid as well. My spell is slowly working to pull the pole out of his star spangled ass. Epsilon has proven himself quite capable in his first unsupervised mission as well." A young male voice spoke. His clasp bore the glyph for his name, a simple arrow.

"Do tell." 'Mother' said.

"Yes ma'am. I was successful in infiltrating L-5's base of operations. Once inside I Whispered the suggestion to use his current mission as an excuse to attack Atlantis rather than merely install the earthquake generator 25 mi. to the east. During the battle, I protected Queen Mera without her knowledge all the while Whispering that the choice to conceal Kaldur'um's true parentage was a mistake. That doing so will make him more likely than not to turn on his homeland. When Garth and Tula came to check on her majesty I used my abilities again to suggest that regardless of Aqualad's feelings, they should pursue their relationship. At some point, L-5 was killed by the Atlantean Royal Guard, his men captured. Ocean Master's survival was inconsequential to my mission, only that his attack fail to reach the palace." A much younger voice spoke from beside Sagittarius. The boy was obviously smaller than the man he sat next to. His clasp also bore the same sigil only a lowercase Greek e was next to it.

"Good job kiddo." the woman to Sagittarius's right said lightly.

"Thank you Lady Pisces. What of your assignment and your son?" Epsilon asked in kind.

"Gotham is a dark city dear one. He is as well as one can be growing up there. I worry that the gifts I have given him will not be enough to protect him but that is probably just a mother's worry. Belle Reeve however is going according to plan. The Light continues to use it as a front for it's dealings. Strange has no idea of any of his 'inmates' are some of my sleeper pawns. Since the capture of the Injustice League, I have been monitoring them closely." Pisces, also wearing the zodiac symbol for her name cross her legs allowing one bare foot to peak out from the folds of her robe. The top of the appendage also bore her symbol.

"Don't worry, your child is strong Pisces from what I've seen. I know you watch him in your spare time as well so I do not blame you for worrying." A lock of blond hair fell from the hood of another woman wearing the sign for Virgo but her face was still hidden. "The JLA is pushing for more regulation of the metahuman, alien and homo magi populous on Earth. It has not progressed to a full blown registration demand but I am aware of several projects in the works that will let the League know of anyone of the 3 who are on the planet. The one spear heading this campaign is , most likely in response to growing concern global for the potential of this hidden community. While I'm not sure Nabu gives a damn about the public's fears or even the struggles of individuals confused about their abilities, he is a busy body and is seeking a way to preemptive strike against us. Laughable really." Virgo chuckled.

"Yes, I spoke to him before the start of this year. Just as arrogant, presumptive an easily misdirected as he was when Kent was his host. He seems to be under the impression that he is responsible for maintaining order in the universe. I allowed him to continue that fantasy. He only knows of the Gemini. Not you their servant Ladies or their hidden brother Sagittarius and his servant." Mother yawned. " I must attend to something my dears. See you soon." The only sign of her departure was silence.

"Zatanna is trying to cope but I fear she may be headed for another break down. Arrow girl will be in for _quite_ a shock soon, won't she Pollux?" One of the figures branded with the Gemini sign turned to his twin. Both were joined by a chain connect to one wrist each. The bound hands also has the same symbol. His brother growled at him.

"Shut up Castor. Her name is Artemis and she is of no concern to you brother. None of the Young Justice team save Zatanna is your concern. What are those idiots in the Light doing?"

"Nothing much. Starotech is being retooled to be used in the same capacity but on a team of their own creation. Virgo, it seems our respective surveillance subjects are both seeking a way to control of not merely monitor potential heroes and villains. It's what the whole Belle Reve faux breakout was about. It will serve as a production and testing facility." Castor chuckled at his brother's anger. "Come on, I was merely joking. Still it would be nice to have the right name on the condolence baskets I send to Green Arrow and Huntress after she gets her pretty little head ripped off-WHOA!" His sentence was silenced by Pollux lunging for him and grabbing his throat.

"I'm gonna kill you! You waited till mother left to say that!" Pollux roared. Virgo ran to pull off her enraged master while Pisces shielded his twin. Across from the fight, Sagittarius shook his head in exasperation.

"It's so difficult to tell I'm the younger brother when they act like starlings. What is it Epsilon?" He looked down at the tugging on his sleeve.

"Master they won't let anything happen to her will they really?" The child's confident voice was replaced by fear. The older man put his hand on the child's head.

"Castor is an ass but no she should be fine, don't worry about it kitten. He only said that to piss off Pollux."

"Why do you call me that master?" The boy looked up. His hood fell from his face revealing wild black hair and deep green eyes.

"Why? Why, you're a cat." He spoke evenly. Epsilon froze, his pupils dilating.

"Yes. A _Cheshire _cat." The boy in toned automatically. His cloak swirled around and consumed him as he fell to the ground before turning green. Soon in place of the little boy lay an unconscious and fully grown Jade Nguyen.

"I'm sure your father hasn't missed you but go home little one." He created a black portal the downed assassin vanished into. "Lady Virgo, I should like your assistance once you are sure your master won't murder Pisces' master. Actually all I need is the use of you lips."

"Yes Lord Sagittarius." The blonde nodded as he approached the struggle holding two golden arrows in his hand. He pressed the dull tips to her full lips and the metal sparked.

"Thank you. Good luck with my brothers." The young man dropped down into a portal under his feet. Virgo just sighed as her master resumed his struggle throttle his twin.

"Oh for affinity sakes you two grow up!"

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

The team meanwhile was discussing the fun they would have. Operation Hooky was little more than a plan to annoy their mentors. They argued that in light of how troubled the last few months had been, they needed break and a chance to be kids. They were teenagers after all.

"It doesn't feel right with out Roy." Connor said. "He's locked up in that hospital like criminal while we're planning a day to ditch our duties." He was setting the table while Megan made breakfast.

"Dude, I understand how you feel but he needed help. Roy's like the broody older brother I never wanted and he almost died. Twice. All because he can't take the fact that he's not the original Roy Harper. He needs help bad. He knows we care about him and wouldn't want us all throwing him a pity party." Wally said. His reach for some bacon was stopped by a floating spatula whacking his knuckles. "Ow! Come on Megs!"

"No, just wait." The martian girl didn't even turn around or pause in pouring the waffle batter. Artemis chuckled form her spot in the sofa tying her shoes. Beside her Raquel and Z were trying to see if anything good was on this early.

"Baywatch is right. That's the only Roy I've ever known and he would break our knees if we passed up the chance to bug the shit out of Ollie." She stifled a yawn. "What's our status Bird Boy?"

"A whole lot of nothing. They lied to us. There are no alerts for any where in this area of the fucking country that warrant more than a cop or two. What aren't they telling us?" Robin grumbled. He was hurt that after all this time, Bruce still apparently did not trust him.

"We merely have to attack the weakest link. My apologizes Wally but that appears to be your uncle." Kaldur pulled his shirt on.

"Meh, no sweat. I have a whole SD card full of interesting things he doesn't want Aunt Iris to know about. Like the Christmas party or whatever PC term Canary came up with for it." With that, the red head zoomed off towards his room. Leaving an empty plate of bacon in his wake.

"WALLY!"

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Yes that little boy turned into exactly who you think he did. You've been introduced to the Zodiac Knights and have a little more about the Team's grand plan. Next up we see how busy the League really is, a look see at the Light and some more on the team's history since New Year's.


	3. Teenagers

Hey y'all. Thanks for continuing to read.

This chapter will touch more on the league, specifically those with proteges, and how they view the time since New Years. Ooh, and there's a suprise at the very end.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

My Chemical Romance gets us going with Teenagers. Let's do this!

Chapter 3

Teenagers

"Every member of Young Justice has the potential to become a violent criminal."

The Flash, the fastest man alive, accidentally inhaled half of the pizza he had been eating and not in a good way. He began pounding his chest, the portion of his face visible under his mask immediately turning blue. Black Canary worriedly hitting his back until an unsightly and freakishly large wad of partially chewed dough, sauce, and cheese landed in the pizza box. Green Arrow beside him looked about as green as his hood.

Usually there was a standing rule that no food or beverages be allowed in the main meeting/war room. The metabolism of a hummingbird and having just gone up against half of Central's Rogues suspended the rule for him. Those present were wishing it didn't.

Sometime after the events of the New Years coup attempt, Dr. Fate had approached the founders and told them there was an urgent matter that needed to be addressed once the issues with security on Watchtower and the Cave were handled. At the end of March, he called the founders, members with sidekicks, and anyone who trained with the sidekicks to a meeting where he dropped that nice little bomb.

Reactions ranged from impassive (Red Tornado, Hawkgirl), to shocked (Black Canary, Wonder Woman, Flash ), to thinly veiled anger (Batman, Aquaman) to worried and uneasy (Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Superman) and genuine confusion (Icon, The Green Lanterns).

"Hold it Fate. Young Justice is a team of heroes in training." Batman glared. He was insulted that the sorcerer would even suggest that someone he trained would go rogue. That any of the kids would.

"I am well aware of that Batman. I am also aware that they are all under the age of 25, the mean time at which the human brain is fully developed. Adolescents lack the capability to make judgements on the same logical level as adults. They are emotion driven. The purpose of their team was to create a covert operation that contained experienced vigilantes with future potential to join the League. While I find no fault with that decision, I have to call into question the way in which said team is managed and the mental stability of those on it."

The viewing screen lit up and head-shots of each YJ member appeared. Red Arrow was included.

"What is said in this room is to remain in it. I have researched the children extensively and my findings are the basis of my conclusions though I realize my means of doing so may constitute an invasion of privacy on their part and to some extent your own. Most of what I learned camee from observation, notes made by Canary and Red Tornado as well as the media. Yes Flash, magic users are capable of employing the scientific method when it suits us."

The picture of Robin came to the forefront.

"Robin is the youngest member though he has the most experience as a hero. On the surface he is a master hacker and technological expert, martial artist, acrobat and highly intelligent over all. He is also deeply scarred by the murder of his parents right in front of him at a young age. He grew up in what is unarguably one of the most dangerous cities in the country. He has also been subjected to torture at the hands of the Joker, Scarecrow and to a lesser extent Poison Ivy. It is a wonder the child has not already suffered a psychotic break. He came dangerously close after crime syndicate leader Tony Zucco was briefly released from jail two years ago on technicality. Batman had to physically prevent him from killing the man responsible for his parents' deaths. The eleven year old hunted the man down on his own with every intention of taking his life."

Footage played of Robin in action, with little there was. The denizens of Gotham were notorious for thier lack of media coverage concerning vigilantes. Dr. Fate knew why. Shadows tend to protect those they identify with, hide them from the light; including cameras. He doubted either Batman or Robin were aware of this. However it was not relevant to the issue.

The room was silent. The Bats were very secretive and not much was known to the league about their lives as heroes in Gotham other than it was overrun with whack jobs. They knew Robin was the longest active YJ member and there was some speculation that they maybe father and son. But he was a happy carefree kid who got a kick out of screwing with people, not much different from a class clown. He couldn't possibly be a sociopath could he?

"Robin's grades are good but he is often bullied in school because of his background. Other children at his rather expensive school think less of him because of his more humble beginings. To cope, he acts like a playful imp around others but is often very sullen when alone. This coupled with his desire to take up Batman's mantle at some point while at the same not really believing he can demonstrates a slight sociopathic tendency. He tries to conform to what others expect of him, he is a very good actor."

Nobody would look at Batman. It had more to do with fear of catching a Batglare than actual anger or revulsion at him. He sat there silent. The only indication of his rising anger was the sound of the communicator in his hand cracking. Bruce was seething. How dare that glorified bucket pry into his family's affairs like that. Yes, when Robin learned of Zucco's release, he went after him. And it took nothing less than several thousand volts of electricity and enough tranquilizer to render an elephant comatose to stop the very determined and very angry little bird. When he was too young to register for a Facebook account. Still it was none of their business! The situation was handled.

Kid Flash was next.

"Wallace West is a young genius. Literally. Often care free and flirtatious, this is possibly his way of dealing with the abuse he suffered as a child. He possesses the same traits as his uncle including access to the phenomena known as the Speed Force-"

"Whoa. Stop. Wally can barely control his ability to accelerate. He gets a bloody nose if he tries to vibrate through solid matter and he accidentally created a rebound effect once by flailing his arms like a loon in a moment of panic. I'm just happy he can stop without killing himself." Flash frowned.

"You do not know your nephew as well as you think Flash. Kid Flash has not only demonstrated molecular intangibility but he has also been able to create shields, massively amplify his own strength and durability, as well as manipulate kinetic energy even sensing it." Fate produced a second monitor that showed footage of Kid Flash causing Captain Boomerang to fly across the pier after a super charged punch. During a bank robbery he ran through a spray of bullets only to have them drop to the ground like dead flies just before he gained a burst of speed that caused a sonic boom. And deafened one gunman. The last clip showed Wally moving his arms at hyper speed like he was trying to ward off an attack while his legs were trapped in ice. Captain Cold's finishing blast was reflected back at him. Instant popsicle. Wally then seemed to slide out of the ice around his feet while it remained intact.

"Er, not to lend any credit to this but, did anyone happen to notice Wally's face?" John asked.

The clips replayed, zooming in on Wally's face and a disturbing trend was seen.

Each time KF demonstrated an advanced speedster ability, his eyes turned completely white as if he were wearing the same type of mask as Flash instead of his goggles. His face lost all expression.

"Wallace appears to have no memory of these instances and his teammates have noticed as well. It is causing a rift in his romance with Artemis. I believe his relationship to the Speed Force is the inverse of your own Flash. Instead of using it to his will, it possesses him in a sense. The longer he uses his powers the more likely it is to occur. I am unaware if happens in any other situations."

Silence again. Barry was rather embarrassed that he didn't know this and suddenly very worried at the same time. The Speed Force could best be described as an ambient energy existing in a type of pocket dimension only speedsters could reach. Was it possible it was sentient? If so, how much control did it have over his protege? Wally told him once that when his father would beat him, he would just blank out. Float away from his body so he didn't have to deal with it. While it probably helped him preserve his sanity then, it seemed now his body was being occupied when he did this in battle. By something powerful and largely unknown.

Up next were both Artemis and Red Arrow.

"Artemis is an average student with strength, dexterity, archery and combat ability on par with those trained to have them several years her senior. She has no metahuman ability whatsoever. However she has an anger problem that has gotten the better of her at times. She has reason to be angry, her parents and elder sister are all villains though Huntress' paralysis and incarceration forced her into retirement. She now works as a cashier and lives in a less than reputable part of Gotham. It is known that her father Sportsmaster and sister Cheshire have actively tried to recruit her into their operation on several occasions. Her past issues with them suggest she will not join but she still has great potential to become a solo criminal. She has little regard for the rules, often failing to see how they apply to her. Her dislike of authority, while not uncommon in her age group, is of concern considering her background.

The clone of Roy Harper, Red Arrow, is another case entirely. He graduated pubic schooling but is none the less very bright with some ADD. Though the original possess the same skills as Artemis, the clone exudes a very strange aura. I must confess that I am at a loss for what it is. It is most likely a side effect of what was done to not only replicate his physical appearance but persona. It does not enhance his abilities but does seem to flare when he is with the team, touching each of them. I believe it may also have some adverse effects on his mental stability as an insurance policy of sorts since he has obviously outlived his usefulness to the Light. This is supported by his subsequent self-destuctive behavior climaxing in two drug overdoses. While the first was proven accidental, he revealed in Rehabilitation that the second was a suicide attempt. We are all aware of his original mission and programing. Though Martian Manhunter has been able to verify no further programing exists, he is the one who first noticed this aura."

Once again the subjects of the conversation were seen in motion. Green Arrow turned away at the sight of the boy he called a son lying in a hospital bed with his eyes rolled up in his head, still catatonic but twitching slightly. It had been a paparazzi blitz. The hospital ER was not equipped to provide tight security and it turned into a clusterfuck to get pictures and video of the ward of the Queen Industries owner strung out like a junkie. It was a nightmare. On top of that, he was angry that he allowed something that wasn't really Roy replace his son without so much as notice to anything off. While not as close to Artemis, he did feel bad for not doing more for her as well. He had known of her situation and only took her on to prevent exactly what Fate was predicting.

Miss Martian's smiling face appeared next, followed by stock footage.

"Miss Martian is a kind, bright person who seems to dislike fighting but recognizes it to be a necessary part of her duties as a hero. Her grades are average and she is a prominent member of her cheer-leading squad. She also has a very strong connection psychic to Superboy that greatly exceeds the one she has with other non-telepaths. This is evident in the fact that their minds have been shown to connect even while on opposite sides of the globe. She has been revealed to be in fact a White Martian and is by far the most powerful member of the team in terms of raw power. Even so, she lacks full control of these abilities as shown that she cannot become intangible and her ability to shape shift is limited by mass and gender. Her naive nature and insecurities about her identity are my main concern. Like Robin she tries very hard to be who she is 'supposed' to be and is easily influenced by those close to her. If any of them turn on us, she could be drug down with them by default."

Manhunter did not change his expression. He had been raised to remain calm in situations that taxed the emotions. On the outside anyway. In his mind, he was contemplating telekinetically ripping the helmet off just to get Nabu to shut up. Damn the consequences. These things were faults surely but were also beyond M'gann's control. Instead of persecuting her for them, the good Dr. should be more interested in helping her feel like less of an outsider. Her interactions with the team were good for her. Still, part of him was concerned by her untamed potential even though he was working with her to control it.

Superboy's photo was next. That scowl seemed permanently etched on his face.

"Connor Kent, despite the coincidence Superman, was actually named in honor of my former host. He is only half Kryptonian as Cadmus discovered their techniques produced unstable full Kryptonians. As such the abilities he has are limited to invulnerability to all but kryptonite, super strength, enhances speed and leaping ability, and a variety of ocular abilities including most recently heat vision. The other half of his biology comes from Lex Luthor, as does his keen mind. I suspect that though he was purposely created to be controllable, his repertoire of abilities will eventually expand to mirror your own fully. While also very intelligent like his friends, Superboy's almost as naive as Miss Martian. He knows a great deal in general but has a hard time relating it to real world experience. Unlike his girlfriend-don't look at me like that Superman-Superboy is very angry about his situation. He hasn't even been recognized by one of the men who genetically fathered him as existing and the one that does tried to take advantage of his need for a mentor and use him as a weapon. He also has had the hardest time adjusting to school of all the non-human members.

Superboy's anger problem is less controlled than Artemis' and far more destructive. He associates less of a moral factor with being a hero than simply taking out the cause of a problem. Adding to the complication, his mind, not M'gann's is dominant in their connection though it is possible both are unaware of it."

Superman groaned. Great. Turns out Connor is wayyy more dangerous than he thought and will only get stronger. Clark had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that Connor could possibly control Megan if he wanted. The two of them were the powerhouses of the whole group but in retrospect, they were all dangerous if left to their own devices. The two of them were simply more likely to cause more damage at a given time. Ignoring this wasn't going to make it any better.

Kaldur's picture flanked by video of him giving a mutated villan a water mallet to the face appeared.

"Aqualad is a stotic young Atlantean who once aspired to be apart of the Royal Guard. After becoming Aqualad he demonstrated a talent for leadership and diplomacy. He attends school with Superboy and Miss Martian. Despite his calm demeanor, Kaldur as gives off a strange aura. Unlike Red Arrow, I have identified his as being a manifestation of his often suppressed emotions. It does enhance his abilities, particularly his sorcery; acting as a conduit if he is separated from his water-bearers and at least once a purely energy based attack. He feels an enormous amount of pressure to be not what the surface world expects but the Atlantean people expect. He has long suspected he was different than his academy classmates. For this reason, I am uncertain how he will react to learning he is the son of a noble in the Alantean Court and the kingdom's greatest enemy, Black Manta. Or that his mother was tried and executed without the King's consent for their relationship on the grounds of treason. Her final request being that Kaldur live and never know his father."

Aquaman hung his head in shame. He knew one day Kaldur'um would learn of his heritage, despite the promise Mera made to the dying Lyun'ua. It would simply not be possible to hide it forever. He had just always hoped it would not bee anytime soon and that his loyalty to the side of good would deter him from reacting negatively. He was beginning to see this may not be the way things went. He had inherited his mother's Inner Torrent, a power coveted by magic users in his realm as it greatly enhanced spells and other abilities. A power also feared and the reason Lyun'ua was killed before he knew of her or the child.

Zatanna and Rocket appeared together.

"I have the least information on the newest team members. Raquel Ervin was born to a family in Dakota City. Both parents were killed in the Dakota Riots. She lives with her aunt and prior to meeting Icon, was a hoodlum with no other useful attributes than her quick wit. Ironically, it was she who convince Icon to not only become a hero but introduce himself to the League. Her abilities are the result of Icon's use of his escape pod's inertia winder component to create an inertia belt. It was an unforseen event that caused the belt and it's properties to become physically apart of her. She is able to manipulate the belt to become a more fashionable version of itself or other jewelery but cannot remove it. My concern with her is the fact that she still has contact though minimal with her old criminal gang. Also because of the belt, she feels like a freak; especially after learning on accident that somehow part of Icon's DNA has become apart of her as well, making her only 80% human.

Zatanna my current host's child has not taken the exchange made very well. She has been treated for self mutilation and depression. In the last few months, I have noticed that her magic is slowly tilting to the side of Chaotic Magic like that weilded by Klarion the Witchboy. Chaos magic, despite intention, is almost always destructive and generally negative."

Wow. Just...wow.

Several members officially though Fate was more of a douche than before. He just breezed past Zatanna, condensing her misfortune into a single paragraph. His reasoning for her possible AWOL status in the future was his fucking fault! And he didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

Icon himself felt guilty for Rocket's predicament. Had he really thought about what he was doing, he would have realized overloading the belt could have unpredictable side effects. Her Aunt knew, he had no choice but to tell her. She forgave him, telling him that he probably saved his niece's life and to some degree her soul by giving her the ability to fight crime. Of course, this civil conversation only occurred after lawyer Augustus Freeman II (his civilian ID) caught a chair with his face, expertly swung by the angry African American giantess Lenora Ervin in her living room. He questioned whether or not she was part of a lost Amazon tribe.

After being presented with this new information, the question remained. _What do we do about this? What can we do?_

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Around the same time, Klarion was lying face down on his bed in his very lavish bedroom. Ocean Master and his grudge against Atlantis was starting to bother him. A lot. While he personally could careless, did the man have to bring it up at every meeting? It was bad enough he had to pretend to be paying attention when Lex droned on about science and the Brain's robotic voice may as well have been white noise. Queen Bee was a sexist bitch and aside from the scars, Al Ghul and Savage were hard for his uninterested mind to tell apart. Boy did he pick the most irritating side. He was not looking forward to the next meeting.

"Meow."

"Yeah yeah I know. I have a present to shop for. Hmmm...I wonder how she'd like a living doll?" The witchling did not even move as his familiar settled hear his head. Suddenly he bolted up right startling the poor feline onto the floor. "Whoops, sorry Teekl. Mother's calling, it's okay if you fall asleep this time...I'm sure they only keep me around because they're afraid of what I could do if they piss me off. Later."

Shadows swirled around him, draping familiar black cloak over his clothing. A stylized roman numeral two bled into existence on his right hand just as a shackle with a broken chain that reached the floor appeared on the same wrist.

Once he vanished into a black portal, an identical copy of his regular form got up off the floor and walked towards the door.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Well, we know a little more about the missing time and we just learned who one of the Zodiac Knights is. Told ya they weren't really OCs. Next, the Team puts Operation Hooky into effect with...interesting consequences. There might be one or two more Knights revealed as their plans become clearer as well. Sirensoundwave out.


	4. Kick in the Teeth

Hiya. Last time we got an explanation of why the League might not want the team our on their own for the festival. Dr. Fate's being a troll and a tool. We also know Klarion is one of the Zodiac Knights bearing the Gemini sigil (there are two for this sign; they were chained together in the meeting).

This chapter is shorter and a little crackish, at least to start with. It shows you just how to put the ass in assume no matter how old you are. Also, brace yourself for the adorableness and weirdness that are Sylphine and her 'twin brother' Gabriel at the end. Another knight is revealed not only to the readers but the heroes as well. And it feels like just like...well...a kick in the teeth.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

That Papa Roach song gets us goin.

Chapter 4

Kick in the Teeth

For a bunch of teens who could probably get into MENSA if they were actually interested, Young Justice did not think this plan through very well.

If they had, they would have realized just disappearing without warning and no way to be contacted by their mentors might be taken the wrong way.

That's right. Operation Hooky was in essence a demonstration in the silent treatment.

The plan was very simple. Zatanna cast a spell to cause the footage in the cave to loop of them doing what they do daily. Their security clearance was not high enough to do it electronically.

While the others prepared to leave, Robin and Kid Flash sneak onto the Watchtower by hacking into the zeta tube system. KF confronts his uncle demanding the elder speedster tell them why the League is suddenly so interested in everything the team is doing. Wally begs his uncle to talk to him. And when he refuses, Wally threatens him with some interesting photos and video from a party. At the same time, Robin is infecting the locator program with a virus that erases their signatures form the data base. The two leave and return to the cave

The team splits up going to 4 destinations in their civies. Raquel and Kaldur go to a water park in Gotham. Zatanna and Artemis go to see a movie and hang out at a mall in Metropolis. Robin and Wally spend the day at a mega-arcade in Star City. Connor took Megan to Central for a picnic with Sphere and Wolf runnig around in the background. They ditched their league communicators for throw away cellphones and Robin fried the tracker in his R-cycle.

Now, what was suppose to happen was the League get worried and once they realized they the team was fine and had just needed some R&R unsupervised, they could all talk about the weirdness with watching them like big brother with a short leash.

Yeah.

It sounded like a good idea at the time. Most horrible ideas do.

Here's what actually happened.

All hell broke loose.

"Will you guys chill out!" Flash yelled. Everyone turned to him. The same group from the March meeting. "They know something is up. This sneaking around them and looking over their shoulders has made them distrust us. Wally tried to blackmail me before they vanished. Now I know if I had just told him, this would not have happened."

"The team has gone rogue. This isn't a spur of the moment thing Barry. They planned this, making sure to leave behind anything we could trace them with and crippling our computers. That doesn't sound like they were going to just sit down and talk with you." Hal Jordan frowned.

"No, I agree with Flash. This wasn't the way to get the answers we were looking for and we may have done just what we were trying to prevent."

"This was bound to happen sooner or later." Superman sighed. "Put out an APB to all active JLA members. The team known a Young Justice has gone AWOL and are to be considered armed and dangerous."

Yep.

See what happens when people don't talk to each other?

So while the teens were having a ball, the whole of the League was on the lookout for them. And ironically Batman was the only one to locate one of the pairs after they had had their fun and were on their way back. The batmobile pulled up along side Robin's bike and forced them off the road.

"What the hell Bats?" Wally ripped off his helmet.

"Why did you disappear?" The Dark Knight was secretly hoping that Barry had been right.

"Because you've been breathing down our necks for months but won't tell us why. We know you guys are monitoring us like lab rats. We know that Locator is a global tracker that keeps tabs on unknowns with potential to be heroes or villains. This isn't 1984 or Minority Report. You don't have the right to do any of this!" Robin yelled. "What is going on?"

"They think we're all about to snap Dickie bird."

Sitting on the hood of the Batmobile was none other than Red Arrow. He didn't look like a recovering heroine addict dressed in his uniform. He sat cross legged , arms folded and smirking like a cat that got the cream.

"How did you get out of the Rehab hospital Roy? You're not due for release for two days and you sure as hell aren't cleared to be in uniform." Bruce had a very bad feeling about this. He stopped Robin and Wally from going to greet their friend. Something was off.

"I was never there Mr. Wayne, one of my dolls was. So, how's the Super Deadbeat doing? I know Ma and Pa Kent aren't too happy about his ignoring their grandson. Last I saw Ms. Lane threw he engagement ring at him." Red arrow slid off the car and walked towards them. He cocked his head to the side in response to their confusion. "Yes I know who you all are."

"But you're not our bro are you." Robin glared at the new comer, reaching for his collapsible bo staff he always kept on him. Batman saw the hurt on his little bird's face, heard it in his voice, and it angered him. Batman took a battle stance and so did Wally.

"The answer is yes and no. Yes my name is Roy and yes I am the same Roy you've always known. But no I am not your bro. My real name is Sagittarius."

A golden broach with the sign of the archer appeared on his throat as a black hood and cloak dotted with stars wrapped around him. The broach settled on the living material and an eerie chuckle sounded from under the hood of the cloak.

Here was the same criminal that has captured Lois three months ago and managed to fire a beam of light straight through Clark's chest. He had been unharmed but the mystery remained how it happened. Lois claimed he only wanted to talk and in the process revealed the secret of Connor's origin and subsequent treatment to her. Lois lost it when Superman came for her.

Shit.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Back at the cave, Black Canary and Red Tornado were looking for clues. Their search had lead them out doors to a bush rustling in the still air.

"Black Canary, I am detecting humanoid life in the bushes other there." Red Tornado walked closer to the source of the rustling. When he reached inside, a shriek of terror was heard followed by a very young voice with less than appropriate things to say.

"Son of a bitch! You scared by little sister you overgrown toaster! Bastard!" A little boy no older than 10 jumped out and round-housed the android pushing him back. He landed and Canary was shocked. His hair was the color of snow and his skin like liquid paper. Deep purple eyes narrowed at her. Cowering behind him was a little girl of the same age with long black braids, gold eyes and skin like creamed coffee and face streaked with tears. Sister? Both were so cute but could possibly be related. Why were they out here?

"We're sorry we scared you two-"

"I wasn't scared!"

"Er... I"m Black Canary. What's your name?"

"Black Canary? Who named you blondie?" The boy snorted. "I'm Gabriel and this is my twins sister Sylphine."

"We need help. The bad man with the bow and arrows is gonna get us!" Sylphine began to sniffle. "We heard heroes live here."

"It appears we have another problem." Red Tornado said. He listened to his on board communicator."Batman found Robin and Kid Flash. They are on their way here but Batman is critically injured. A...Sagittarius attacked the three of them."

"The same one from Metropolis?"

"Yes."

"Whagh! Don't let him get us!" Sylphine wailed louder, clutching her brother.

Things just got a helluva lot more complicated.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Roy's a meanie! And the Zodiac Knight Sagittarius. What up with the cute kids? Next chapter, everything come back to the opening of chapter one.


	5. Divide

Sup. Last chappie was short I know. So any way, at least KF, Rob and Bats know Roy is Sagittarius. No one but you guys know Klarion is one of the Gemini and Cheshire is under some kind of spell that changes her into Epsilon, Sagittarius' servant. I promise Virgo, Pisces, and the other Gemini are characters from the show. Mother is the one Fate talked to in the prequel.

Okay, now we get to see what led up to the event at the beginning of chapter one. The start of it at least. We also see what happened after Sagittarius showed up.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Disturbed's Divide leads the way. Let's do this!

Chapter 5

Divide

Red Tornado wouldn't call himself an expert on human and behavior interaction. His time as a member of the Justice League and den mother to Young Justice had shown that he was capable of genuinely showing many human qualities but in no way put him in the position to evaluate his charges. Despite access to extensive psychology and sociology research. But he was sure of one thing.

Dinah liked kids. Kids liked Dinah.

Generally.

Angry violet eyes glared at Black Canary. Their owner's spiked platinum hair looked like he had been electrocuted. It made him seem even more hostile. Kid apparently didn't know what the sun was-he was pale as a corpse. His clothes could pass for a hospital gown; plain white, but one closed piece stopping at his knees; no open back. Around his neck was a chain that had a black bird in profile taking flight.

Golden orbs, swollen from crying were down cast. His sister played with the hem of her identical gown nervously. Red Tornado apparently unnerved her. He noticed she stole glances at him only to look away an instant later. She looked nothing like her brother; skin the color of cappuccino and ebony braids down to the small of her back. Gold butterflies jingled on the anklet hugging her left ankle.

Yet the two claimed to be twins. The android already surmised they were not your average little kids. When Gabriel kicked him not only had he pushed him back but left a dent on his chest-plate. It was small but never the less there. Impressive for a barefoot human child. If they were in fact human. On top of that, they had found the cave in search of sanctuary to get away from the same cloaked kidnapper that spilled Superman's dirty little secret to Lois Lane. The man had tried to snatch them out of the yard at their daycare, Shia Lua. According to the children, it was a facility run by monks of a faith he was unfamiliar with. It explained the odd clothing though.

In a desperate attempt to get away, the two teleported on accident but hadn't been able to duplicate it. They had no idea what happened to their peers or care takers. They weren't even sure where they teleported from to begin with.

His thoughts were interrupted by the Zeta tubes announcing the arrival of part of the team.

_Recognized B07, Artemis. B08 Zatanna._

Frantic and out of breath, the two girls rushed in shopping bags in tow. All because Robin had sent a mass text to the team:

_Code Red. Mission Aborted. Return to base ASAP._

It was immediately obvious why her brother was so concerned about the AI startling Sylphine. When the girls barrelled in, she shrieked in fright and a vortex of wind appeared snatching them up and flinging them in two different directions. The light and noise triggered a reflexive attack.

"Sylphy it's okay. The bad man can't get us here." Gabriel held her from behind, rocking her from side to side gently. It struck Red Tornado as odd that he covered her eyes with his hands.

_Her abilities must depend on seeing her target._

"Ugh..." Artemis groaned and rolled over before standing up. "What was that?"

"Our guests. Sylphine it's okay. They're heroes too and they're here to help." Black Canary sighed. She helped the young magician pick up clothes and bags that had been thrown about. Sylphine was about to say something when the computer rapid fired more arrivals.

_Recognized B02, Aqualad. B09, Rocket._

_Recognized B04, Superboy. B04-1 Sphere. B04-2 Wolf . B05 Miss Martian._

_Recognized B01 Robin. B03 Kid Flash. 02 Batman_

Just because a set of people came through the tube at the same time, it did not mean the point of origin was the same. As indicated by the computer's grouping, there were three different locations this set had come from.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Raquel asked the instant she saw everyone.

"Yeah, things were going so well." Megan said glumly.

"Why is his heart beating so slowly?" Connor turned to Kid Flash. He and Robin were supporting an unconscious Batman. Who happened to be bleeding everywhere. All three sported tears to their uniform or civvies. Bruises were forming, gashes and scrapes clearly visible already. Wally's sneakers were almost non-existant.

"Roy happened! He almost killed us! That bastard's been playing us this whole time!" Robin growled.

Red Tornado took the wounded hero effortlessly and Robin dropped to his knees obviously dizzy and nursing his shoulder. The boy had a head wound, if the blood pouring down the right side of his face was anything to go by. Still the android knew his fellow Leaguer was in far worse shape. Without a word, he levitated and sped to the infirmary.

"That makes no sense. Roy's in St. Helena's Rehab Facility in Star City." Artemis frowned.

"We called him this morning before we left as I remember. He sounded fine-" Kaldur was cut off by Robin's roar of frustration.

"Guys, Roy showed up when Bats cornered us to talk. It was him. The League really when ape shit when we left too. There's still an APB out for our capture."

_*Flashback*_

_The Batmobile was parked next to a toppled R-cycle on the empty back road. The two teens that had been riding it got up and dusted themselves off._

"_What the hell Bats?" Wally ripped off his helmet._

"_Why did you disappear?" The Dark Knight was secretly hoping that Barry had been right._

"_Because you've been breathing down our necks for months but won't tell us why. We know you guys are monitoring us like lab rats. We know that Locator is a global tracker that keeps tabs on unknowns with potential to be heroes or villains. This isn't 1984 or Minority Report. You don't have the right to do any of this!" Robin yelled. "What is going on?"_

"_They think we're all about to snap Dickie bird."_

_Sitting on the hood of the Batmobile was none other than Red Arrow. He didn't look like a recovering heroine addict dressed in his uniform. He sat cross legged , arms folded and smirking like a cat that got the cream._

"_How did you get out of the Rehab hospital Roy? You're not due for release for two days and you sure as hell aren't cleared to be in uniform." Bruce had a very bad feeling about this. He stopped Robin and Wally from going to greet their friend. Something was off._

"_I was never there Mr. Wayne, one of my dolls was. So, how's the Super Deadbeat doing? I know Ma and Pa Kent aren't too happy about his ignoring their grandson. Last I saw Ms. Lane threw he engagement ring at him." Red arrow slid off the car and walked towards them. He cocked his head to the side in response to their confusion. "Yes I know who you all are."_

"_But you're not our bro are you." Robin glared at the new comer, reaching for his collapsible bo staff he always kept on him. Batman saw the hurt on his little bird's face, heard it in his voice, and it angered him. Batman took a battle stance and so did Wally._

"_The answer is yes and no. Yes my name is Roy and yes I am the same Roy you've always known. But no I am not your bro. My real name is Sagittarius."_

_A golden broach with the sign of the archer appeared on his throat as a black hood and cloak dotted with stars wrapped around him. The broach settled on the living material and an eerie chuckle sounded from under the hood of the cloak._

_Here was the same criminal that has captured Lois three months ago and managed to fire a beam of light straight through Clark's chest. He had been unharmed but the mystery remained how it happened. Lois claimed he only wanted to talk and in the process revealed the secret of Connor's origin and subsequent treatment to her. Lois lost it when Superman came for her._

"_So, you're still working for the Light after all." Batman remained impassive on the outside. Inside he was trying to work out how they missed the fact that the clone was still very much in the enemy's pocket. Jonn found nothing save the strange aura both he and Nabu were confused by. The same aura that supposedly had been the cause of his attempted suicide and was somehow touching the other young heroes._

"_The Light? Please. Those idiots think I'm a clone and my original self is still in their custody. All they have is another one of my dolls, a magical construct. No, I'm not interested in listening to a bunch of hypocrites contributing to the destruction of the universe." Red- not Sagittarius chuckled. "Do you even know what the Light is doing? Haven't you noticed a high instance of 'runaways' across the country in the last 3 years?" He put air quotes around runaways. All they could see of his face was that smirk._

"_If the Light aren't your bosses, who are you working for?" Wally demanded. "We thought you were our friend."_

"_Yes well I'm not little boy, get over it. I only stuck around to see what your mentors knew and why they were dragging their asses with handling it. Now I'm positive you don't know a thing. It's why the League's been letting a ticking time bomb countdown, dancing around it without attempting to diffuse it. Or should say them. Looks like I'll have to fix it myself."_

_Robin had a split second to shift and roll along the asphalt before Sagittarius' foot was where his head would have been. He didn't react fast enough to avoid the blow to his temple from a gold bow however. He slammed into the Batmobile as if thrown by Bane. The little bird crumpled like a paper doll, too disoriented get back up._

_Wally zipped under the punch meant for him and manged to get in a hit to his opponent's gut before his face was introduced to the pavement. Quickly getting up he avoided a gold arrow fired at him. Unfortunately they multiplied in mid air and his shoes wore out as he weaved between the raining death. Normal Nikes were not meant to withstand traveling way beyond seventy miles per hour. Wally fell and tumbled end over end for about ten feet; his leg only inches from the furthest reaching arrow. They vanished in a blink, leaving only the holes they created. He righted himself in time to see Batman engaging him in hand to hand._

_The Bat was not idiot. If he let this guy get any distance, he was going to fire off more arrows. As long as they were in close combat, he had a better chance. Roy had obviously hidden the fact that he was a decent martial artist but the Dark Knight was far better. This became clear when he was able to exploit the openings Sagittarius kept leaving exposed. The former League member was getting pummeled. _

_Wait a minute..._

_He caught that smirk again just before flying backwards staring at the sky. His chest suddenly hurt like hell._

_He had not counted on the cloaked villain to be strong enough to drop kick him across the street. He ended up scrambling to avoid a barge of arrows fired immediately after the blow. He responded by throwing several batarangs. All were swatted away by his bow._

"_That was pathetic. To think I pretended to look up to you-ARGH!"_

_Batman watched a blur slam into his attacker like a moving brick wall. The momentum sent him into the cornfield and he disappeared from sight. What had hit him...was Wally. At least his body did. White eyes and a blank face were the tell tale signs that the Speed Force was in control. Still barefoot, SF Wally took off into the maze of maize and second later the sounds our blows making contact were heard._

_By now Robin hand gotten shakily to his feet. He could only see out of his left eye, the other was stinging from all the blood. He tried to get to his mentor but his brain could not get his legs to move right. It felt like he was detached from himself and floating._

"_Robin move!" _

_The dizzy bird didn't so much dodge the airborne body of his best friend as fail to remain standing. The limp red head collided with the batmobile to his right. He wasn't in the clear; one of Wally's legs whacked him in the shoulder and he cried out in pain._

_Both remained where they were, unmoving. Robin was now foggier than before and unsure if Wally was even alive much less awake. He caught movement directly in front of him. He didn't have time to process exactly what it was before he heard his surrogate father scream. It cut off suddenly with a wet gurgling noise._

_When his vision cleared, the protector of Gotham was down. Three thin shafts sticking out of his chest before vanishing in a flash of light. Red gushed from the now unplugged holes. Sagittarius floated out of the corn, hood down; his face had a large purple bruise on it. Despite the obvious pain, he looked amused._

"_Hmph. Maybe I was wrong, Kid Flash-in-the-Pan managed to hit my face. That fucking hurt. Be seeing you all real soon. If you live that is." A black portal opened below him and he sank into it._

_*End*_

The team was unsure what hurt worse. Roy's second betrayal, or being branded criminals just because they stepped out for a few hours alone.

"Bats took those arrows meant for us. I don't know how I got us to the nearest zeta beam entrance. My body just moved on autopilot."

"This is insane. Why would Roy do this?" Superboy scowled. He and Kaldur were helping Robin get to the sofa while the girls tended to battered a Canary had already gotten the first aid kit from station one, the cabinet under the microwave. Let's just say Megan was kind of a klutz in the kitchen.

Half way through wrapping Robin's head, the blond heroine felt a tap on her side. Worried golden eyes were staring at the wound bleeding through the gauze.

"Sylphine I'm a bit busy. Hold on a moment okay?" She smiled.

The small girl raised her hand as a gentle breeze rustled the Boy Wonder's hair. Before Canary could object, he snatched the dressing off. All that remained was some still clotting blood. The horrible gash was gone.

"Thanks kiddo." He sighed. He no longer felt as if a table tennis match was being played with his brain. "You think you could help my friends too?"

She nervously grabbed the hem of her gown again and nodded shyly.

Across the room, the girls had started to work on Wally's wounds. Well they would have if a silver haired someone hadn't shoved Artemis aside and latched on to his shoulders.

"Jesus that hurt!" Wally yelled. Tendrils of dark purple energy danced across his body after Gabriel grabbed him. He felt like he had been shocked with a taser.

"Yeah, but not anymore. Get up you big baby." The boy snapped.

"That's some talent." Zatanna awed. "You look good as new Wally."

The display of healing ability from the twins was surprising. Yet that suprise gave way to another, less welcome one.

_Recognized 21, Red Arrow. _Everybody tensed.

_Reprogramming Authorized. User Renamed. _

_Recognized. ZK03, Sagittarius._

The beam activated and the one person they nobody particularly want to see at the moment stepped out dressed in his uniform. He smiled serenely as if nothing was wrong. The smile itself was far too innocent to be believed.

And it was, they realized, when the power went out and the auxiliary lights came on.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Roy's being an even bigger meanie. How could he do that? Next the battle that leads to the swap at the start of the story. He introduces himself as a Zodiac Knight before beating the holy hell out of the team.


	6. Pumped Up Kicks

Hello! Much love to everyone still readin this. This is an actual chapter, but first, something super important! This message is circulating though the site. Copy it and pass it on though PM and your own fics!

**On June 23 (According to GTM timing) there will be a BLACK OUT!**

**Fanfiction is planning on taking down stories. I do not know the specifics but anything over M rated stories will be taken down. It could be yours or one of your favorites, so don't let it happen. **

**FIGHT THE POWER!**

**On June 23 DO NOT enter the fanfiction site; do not log in, read, or review anything until June 23 is over. Please take part in this and spread the word, for how are we supposed to unleash our imaginations if we are restricted! This site depends on visitors in order to function. As far as I know, it is funded entirely by advertisements THAT WE SEE AND RESPOND TO! Ever notice how they change depending on what you stories you click or search for?**

**Seriously, how hard is it to require registration or age verification to view certain material on this site?**

**Thank you for reading this short rambling and please spread the word and take part in the black out on JUNE 23.**

**SAVE THE STORIES!**

Ahem...now on with the fic. This chapter will contain another fight scene. Basically the Cave becomes an arena cage match. Roy/Sagittarius being more of a bastard and the twins do something...surprising.

Also, this is one of the few songs I know for sure can be definitely be linked to a horrible event that was in the media. It sounds all nice and peppy but listen to the words—it's about a very real, very disturbed individual. I'm using it here because JUST THIS PART fits my story. Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People is our header.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 6

Pumped Up Kicks

"Hiya losers."

"Why did you come here you bastard?" Robin snarled. He was ready to kill. His fists clenched until he felt his nails draw blood from his palm. How dare he just show up like he hadn't tried to murder them an hour ago?

Sylphine and Gabriel ran behind the wall of fighters

"Killing several birds with one stone. I knew those brats would run to you for help. I just figured I'd get to see the old gang one last time. It would be too easy to pick you off one by one, as our last encounter demonstrated." He shrugged as he calmly walked into the cave. "I thought it might be a nice gesture if I told you why you have to die before I take your lives."

"This better be good. You pretended to be our friend before you stabbed us all in the back not once but twice. Old gang my ass!" Artemis yelled. "At least we all came clean with our secrets!"

"Did you? Did you really? No, and neither have your so called mentors. Black Canary, the tin man, and the Bat in the med-bay know exactly what I'm talking about."

"You understand-" Canary began.

"How could they when you won't, I dunno, talk to them? They've been watching you like hawks because they want to make sure they can stop you should you go off the deep end. "To summarize, Robin's a psycho in the making. Kid Flash is being possessed by the Speed Force. Zatanna is self destructing. Artemis and Rocket are both potential felons/assassins to be. Superboy, you've got those pesky anger issues and the ability to use your mental connection to control Miss Martian if you tried. Miss Martian is too sweet and gentle; the League is afraid your powers will get away from you, with your boy toy's help. Aqualad's the son of Black Manta and, oh yeah, the Atlantis Courts killed your mom because it; might be why you've always felt like an outsider." Sagittarius counted off each secret on his fingers.

"That cannot be true..." Kaldur was trying his best to remain calm. This had to be some sort of trick. His king would never...it just had to be a lie!

"Why should we believe a traitor? There's no way you're telling the truth!" Connor snapped.

"Believe me or not. You won't have to worry about it anymore in about twenty minutes."

"Shut up you son of a bitch!" Robin threw several birdarangs he had hidden...wherever. He was seeing red and didn't care that this monster had once been a trusted friend.

"Aw are you upset Dickie bird? It's okay to be angry, you have no idea how much stronger it makes you." Sagittarius was suddenly in his face before he could blink. "Emotions hold so much power, you ought to stop suppressing them."

"Yawa teg!" Zatanna launched a spell that he neatly side stepped then in a flash he had vanished. He reappeared behind her, grabbed her hair and swung her like a toy into Robin.

"Uugh." Both moaned before quickly getting. The whole cave was far tenser than before

"That wasn't very smart." He chuckled.

"RAWG!" Superboy launched himself at his former friend. He was dead set on punching his lights out. Megan was on the verge of tears from those awful lies and he was going to pay for that. Wolf and Sphere flanked him. The loyal pets came to a dead stop when two streaks of light pieced them. Superboy continued forward.

"Not much better." Sagittarius grabbed his out stretched arm as if to leap frog over it. Instead of bringing his feet over the clone's head, he kangaroo kicked him in the face. Connor reeled but managed to grab one of the red head's feet and fling him into the zeta tube computer.

"How was that?" He snarked as the man they used to know as Roy stood up. He dusted himself off as if it were nothing.

"So so." He waved his hand vaguely. " I'm a Zodiac Knight kid, you're not going to hurt me too much. You've been busted heads for what a year? I watched this planet form out of cosmic dust. Me and my brothers are the reason this sorry team exists. Who do you think formed the Justice League? Big Blue thinks the idea was his and The Bat's but we put the notion in their heads. And got the white martians to invade to seal the deal."

"You've been manipulating the whole League?" Wally exclaimed. " How the hell did that happen?"

"It's not their fault. Then JLA was suppose to serve as a counter to the evils in the world. Neither light nor dark can ever truly win; if they do bad stuff goes down and the universe self destructs. We figured instead of busting our asses, you should protect your own damn world. You so called heroes and the villains you fight have been tearing this world apart since it's creation any how. But nooo, they decide to play big brother. Instead of protecting people, the so called defenders of good persecute them and assume they'll turn into enemies of the almighty Justice League. But don't worry. They're next, we'll just start over. Those two will be the first to replace you." He pointed to the twins then produced the golden bow he had outside of Star City again. "Hey, just for fun how about we go about this melee style? I mean I've given you enough time to get your toys together."

Everyone's eye widened when 8 more Red Arrows materialized in the room. The shock was really that they appeared directly in front of each one of them. All smiling evilly as they attacked.

"Whoa!" Rocket barely managed to switch on her belt (which had been a bracelet seconds earlier) and block a glowing gold arrow. The doll kicked the lavender sphere in frustration."Back off Red. You can't get through this. The more force you use, the greater the resistance."

"You'd think so. But, never really been a fan of the laws of physics sweetie." A second arrow went right through the intertia field, Rocket's stomach and out her back before disappearing. The protective glow vanished when she fell. Her belt faded away as unseeing eyes stared at the ceiling. "One down." The doll vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Rocket!" Aqualad was about to run to her when a boot collided with his side.

"I'm over here fish boy." His doll frowned. "Worry about yourself!"

Water scythes collided with the gold bow. The young Atlantean's tattoos glowed sending electricity through his water bearers in an attempted to shock him. It did nothing but cause the his opponent the kick him in the stomach. When contact broke, an arrow went through his body. All his strength left him instantly. Slowly, he sank to his knees and fell over. "Two down." Once again the doll evaporated.

"Holy shit!" Artemis jumped to avoid a slash from the razor sharp tip of the bow aimed at her middle. She had managed to get a few hits in but they were too close for either to fire anything. Or so she thought. As she spun around to deliver a round house, he jabbed a glowing arrow straight through the side of her throat with his hand. She dropped like a puppet with cut strings.

"Number three bites the dust."

Poor Wally didn't even get the chance to run. His doll slammed his bow into his left knee instantly crippling him. He doubled over in pain, literally impaling himself on the arrow held up to his stomach.

"Lame."

" Leets fo sdnob!" Zatanna summoned chains that wrapped around her doll. She turn to Artemis who was closest and ran to check her. She froze in shock as a thin beam of light exited the front of her chest, then fell on her face.

"Keep your eyes on the enemy stupid."

Superboy and Miss Martian seemed to be handling their dolls very well. Essentially they had turned their individual battles into a two on two fight. It didn't seem like the two devils could hurt them. Superboy knocked away everything shot at him and Miss M formed a barrier that she used to push both backwards. She realized too late that was a tactical mistake. Both dolls took aim a the same time and released a single projectile. They split into way more than twenty beams of light that her barrier didn't even slow down. Superboy yanked her into his arms and faced away trying to protect her. He watched several streaks pass through her back from over her shoulder. Down they went, still embracing.

"Aw... how sweet. Useless, but sweet." Both dolls laughed before evaporating.

"And then there were two birds with broken wings." The two remaining Roy's spoke together.

"Go ahead and scream for me Blondie." By the time Canary realized the voice was behind her, inches from her ear, a glowing arrow head was poking out of her stomach. He let her fall to the floor in a heap."Too late."

"Wow. That took all of 3 minutes. I'm done 17 minutes early." The last, original Sagittarius grinned. He watched Robin draw his bo staff, amused. "Really? Think you actually have a chance after I took down everyone else so quickly?"

"Fuck yo-!" Robin's shout was cut off as blood filled his lungs. It spurted out of his mouth, choking him. He looked down at the new bloody hole in his shirt. The baton slipped from his hands and clattered on the floor. He watched the two children hug each other and close their eyes as he hit the floor. The twins had been cowering behind him, terrified.

They had good reason to be. This guy had just slaughtered a room full of superheroes! The people they came to for help. Scattered about the room lying in puddles of red liquid, still as night. There was blood everywhere and all stood between them and certain death was a normal human barely older than them. For all of 10 seconds. He'd even taken out the one adult present before she could react in any way. All with a smile on his face.

They were dead for sure.

"Time to go kiddies." He snatched Sylphine up and she screamed, wind swirling around her.

"Let her go you freak!" Gabriel's eyes pulse violet and his necklace came alive. The bird grew to ten times it's size and began to peck Sagittarius's face without mercy. The Knight yelped in pain and the little boy snatched his sister free. "Run Sylphy!"

"No you don't!" Despite the fact that the bird had almost pecked out his eyes, he saw well enough to snag the ebony haired girl's foot. He raised the bow above his head, the dagger like edge gleamed dangerously in the dim light. "You'll pay for that!"

Time slowed. The scared girl shut her eyes and clutched her brother's hand tighter. Her hand suddenly felt hot...the heat was coming from their interlocked fingers. On instinct they lifted their joined hands, praying from something, anything, to help them.

"AHHHHH!" Their attacker shielded his eyes from the intense light, letting go of the child. To his horror, his precious bow shattered, the force blowing him across the room. He slammed into the the zeta beam entrance like a bullet. "Why you little brats!"

He got to his feet just in time for a pulse of energy to knock him back through the portal.

_Recogized. ZK03, Sagittar-_

The computer voice warped and stalled as he vanished into the transporter. The light the twins were generating pulses wildly again. It bathed the room and the nine bodies scattered about the floor in silver. Abruptly it faded. Nine people began to stir, but two lay motionless on the cold floor.

"Oh my god..." Wally groaned. His head hurt like a bitch. Something was pounding in his ears like a bass drum. Several somethings. All he could hear was thumping, whooshing and buzzing. "What is with all that noise? It's too loud!"

"What are you talking about bay(gasp)watch? I can't (gasp) breathe!" Artemis was going to yell at her boyfriend but found her lungs wouldn't allow air to enter. She grabbed at her throat. To her shock, there were gills on either side of it.

"What happened? Where's the asshole?" Superboy sat up rubbing his head. He paused. Something wasn't right. He could see Megan just fine but...he couldn't _feel _her. "Er...Megan why can't I feel your mind?"

"I...I don't know...I can't feel anyone..." She gasped. "Oh!"

The source of her suprise was the 10 foot tall white martian standing several feet away.

/What is happening? Why do I feel so strange?/ The telepathic voice was familiar...

"Kaldur?" Both alien teens blinked.

/Yes?/

"What happe-YAHHHHH!"

He hopped up, not really sure what it would accomplish. But feeling a strange vibration against his abs then sliding across the floor free of friction was not it. Nor was slamming into a wall and bouncing off like a superball.

Sphere came back online and rolled towards him. She projected a red beam that momentarily stopped his flight. Very briefly. The beam rippled before turning a lavender color and she went rolling back at a high rate of speed.

"EEEPPP!" Rocket shrieked dove to the side. The danger passed but she continued to scream. A horrendous sound filled the cave.

BOOM! The monitor on the supercompter exploded. Quickly she covered her mouth.

"That was a Canary cry!" Black Canary tried to replicate her own ability. Only a normal, but high pitched scream came out. "What the hell?"

ZOOOM!

"Help! I can't stop!" The words were barely heard as a black and white blur zipped by.

Robin leapt up and ran to the medical wing, ignoring the chaos behind him. They were all alive, he knew that. But if that...whatever, was an EMP, then all the computers in the cave could be dead! Red Tornado would be down and Batman...

The Boy Wonder ran like hell, hoping he didn't loose his second father.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

And now we're back to the start of the story. Ironic two scared 10 year olds were able to do what 9 trained fighters couldn't. Now we can move forward. Next chapter, the heroes are forced to begin dealing with the aftermath of the bizzaro ability swap. Not to mention all the skeletons hiding in their closets. Also just what has the Light been up to? Or the other Knights? Sirensoundwave out!

**AN: In support of the blackout, don't expect chapter 7 'til sometime new week.**


	7. The Kids Aren't Alright

Sup peeps. Kudos to everyone who participated in the blackout. I also respect those who chose not to because it didn't really affect them. To each his own but I do hope the admin noticed. The day the original announcement was made about the purge, the adultfanfiction (Not affiliated with FFnet) site experienced a massive swell in author registration and sudden story uploads. Just in case I do decide to write something FFnet disagrees with in the future, I am registered at Adultfanfiction and MediaMiner as sirensoundwave. Haven't gotten around to Live Journal but my name will probably be the same (maintaining a LJ site seems like more work than I'm willing to put in...). Hmm, maybe outtakes our alternate chapters will be written and posted there. I have an idea for something funny but not sure how neatly it fits into the FFnet guidelines yet. I'm totally sure it will make some people cringe.

Oh, and I won't get an invite to the Archive of Our Own Beta site til March of frickin next year! Grrr!

Rant over. So, we saw Roy basically murder his friends but the twins saved the day. Now we have enough info to move forward from the initial opening of chapter one. The Offspring start us off with The Kids Aren't Alright.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 7

The Kids Aren't Alright

"You! This is all your fault!"

The League and few YJ members NOT having an episode looked on in shock. The normally laid back jokester of the group was glaring daggers at Superman. He was also standing next to a fist shaped hole in the cave wall.

Bewildered, Supes looked around until he realized the outburst was directed at him. Why was Wally yelling at him? What was he yelling about for that matter?

He and several older heroes had responded to Robin's distress signals. One had been sent almost an hour beforehand. The second, less than ten minutes ago while they were already en route. They had no idea what happened on either occasion. Which is why the Man of Steel just stood there when the angry red head charged, albeit at a slower than usual pace. He knew hitting his body was like hitting steel, hence the nickname. He intended to move with the boy's blow to prevent the boy from breaking every bone on his clenched fist.

Yet another less than stellar idea on his part. He realized this about...half a second too late. When the missed right hook was followed up by an upper cut with his left.

POW!

His neck snapped back like bobble head- since when was Wally so damn strong?

The confusion over Wally's new found strength (and wicked temper) was eclipsed once Martian Manhunter forced the teen's mind to shut down. The angry ginger dropped like a stone into a dead sleep mid third punch. The green Martian's concern lay with the fact that he could see his adopted niece but he could also see a white martian that was clearly male looming over Artemis. From what he could tell, he wasn't attacking but his thoughts had no shield and were being broadcast to any telepath in range. He was keeping the female archer from drowning on land. Wait... those thoughts...

/Kaldur?/

/(Sigh) Yes. Something most odd has happened. I remember Robin and Wally arriving with an injured Batman then Red Arrow appeared. I believe we were all killed by his hand and those two children revived us. I am unsure as I was the second to fall./ A spindly arm came up to scratch the back of his head. /When I awoke, I was like this. Our abilities seem to have switched./

"Red Arrow? Are you sure?"

"What about Roy? He's still in the hospital." Green Arrow frowned as he tried to get Artemis more comfortable in the sink by holding her up slightly. His concern for his 'niece' overrode his initial fear of the thing beside her. To his suprise, it merely stepped away when he approached.

"According to Aqualad he is not. The clone of Roy is the cause of this. Everyone's abilities have been transferred to someone else." The Martian replied.

"Where is Kaldur'um by the way?" Aquaman raised a thin brow. He did not see the young man anywhere. At first he feared that the boy had somehow lost all reason and had been the one behind the chaotic mess before him. He should not have let this go on! Garth was a better choice but he had to keep an eye on Kaldur'um somehow-

/I am...hurt that you would feel that way my King. I have never had a real, tangible reason to doubt or question my place in Atlantis but it appears I do now. Thank you for validating my fears./ Even telepathically, the tone was bitter. It was also not directed at merely the Sea King but everyone present. /What Red Arrow or rather Sagittarius told us about why you all have been so strict yet distant these past months is true isn't it?/

"Stop, wait, that's Aqualad?" Superman exclaimed. He was ignored by the next person to shout.

"That traitor wasn't lying? I don't believe this. We bust out asses to be the heroes we know we are and you look down your noses at us like we're no better than criminals. I can't take this!" Megan stormed out towards her room, tears in her eyes. Not one of the eight adults present could bring themselves to stop her. Conner would have run after her were he not stuck on the floor not wanting a repeat of his "superball" experience.

"I'd say more than powers got swapped guys. I've never been so angry and bitter in all my life. And I only have a vague notion of why. I love/hate Cheshire. I'm angry at Paula for getting involved with the man that put her in that chair, Sportsmaster. Whom I wish would step on an IED. You feel like this all the time Artemis?"Black Canary rubbed her temples. "Our emotions to some degree are overwhelming whoever got our powers. I bet that's why Wally tried to knock Supes into next week and might have succeeded. Congratulation Clark, it's a very pissed off boy with daddy issues like you wouldn't believe."

"I do not have daddy issues." Connor snapped from his place on the floor. "I just happen to share 50% of my DNA with a hypocritical fucktard who wishes I didn't exist and the other 50% with a delusional megalomaniac who wants me as a mindless killing machine. _Loads_ of genetically engineered super freaks have that problem. Will somebody turn this damn thing off so I can get up?" That last bit was hollered loudly.

Raquel hopped up and ran to him. She was still afraid to open her mouth so she took out her throw away cell phone and began to type.

#Um...concentrate and you can turn it off yourself. It's not exactly a separate part of you, more like a new limb. Try harder and you can will it into something smaller or bigger but just don't try to take it off...stupid thing doesn't actually come off anyhow and you'll probably pass out from the pain if you try.# She held it out for him to read.

"You haven't been able to take this thing off? Since when? I always thought it was just apart of you costume." Connor raised a brow.

#No. Accident. It's apart of me now. Icon's residual DNA on it fused with me too. We kinda have the market cornered on human/alien hybrid freaks.# She smiled wryly.

"This is much more troublesome than we thought." Icon said. "I do not believe that this can continue. Our previous course of action, simple observation, was...ill conceived. Perhaps the key to understanding what Dr. Fate brought to our attention is actual interaction with our proteges. It has become obvious that our previous approach-"

"Was the same as an ostrich sticking it's head in the sand?" Black Canary finished for him. "I would apologize for that if I felt it was out of line. But I don't. Artemis seems to have greater restraint than we thought. The urge to verbalize every sarcastic thought in my head is pretty strong."

WHUMP!

"Ow! ! ?" Zatanna wailed at hyper speed. At some point. Dr. Fate he had reversed the spell placed on her by Robin (though the elder heroes dunno that yet). It was like flicking a switch. She was already off balance and failing over in slow-mo. Having her return to 'normal' plowed her into the hard floor like a bullet. Fate did not even acknowledge her tirade.

"Zatanna, calm down." Artemis had been able to pull her head out of the sink thanks to a wet towel Kaldur had wrapped around her new gills. "You recieved Kid Flash's superspeed. Concentrate on ennunciating so we may understand you bette- since when do I talk like that?"

/Is something the matter with how I talk?/ Kaldur asked. Megan's typical speech pattern was slowly taking over his own.

"Besides the fact that you sound like an oreo? Nothing. Wait, Raquel what's an oreo?" Connor stood up and pet a worried Wolf as Sphere rolled to him. Why had he called Kaldur a cookie? He knew the Atlantian didn't like many sweets but did enjoy those. Two chocolate wafers with white cream filling dunked in milk- ohhhhh. Well, that was mean. Who would make such a wonderful snack food a derogatory term?

"Has anybody been honest about anything since New Years?" Robin's wrist computer asked in monotone voice. Since he too didn't trust his voice, he decided to use it's text to talk function. "We need to actually talk instead of tip-toeing around each other like 's a few white elephants in the room." The Boy Wonder put a hand on his hip in a every effeminate manner. Zatanna cracked up in true speedster fashion.

"Youlooklikeagirl!" She giggled madly.

"Um, what happened in here?" Flash tried to get back on topic.

"Until we get the systems back online, the kids will have to tell us. This ought to be insightful." Green Lantern John Stewart found himself grateful that he doesn't have a teen-aged mini-me and all the issues they entail. He had some reservations against the whole _'wait and see' _policy. Granted he was more on the side of _'slap Belle Reeve custom collars on em til we know what's what' _but that was neither here nor there now. Seven emotionally unstable superkids now with unstable abilities and feelings that were not there own could only turn out to be a bad thing. Still it would be fun to watch Big Blue twist in the wind. And hopefully that other jerk would finally see that despite the front she put up, Z was just a scared little girl who needed her daddy.

Yeah right. This was about to go to pot and he knew it.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

In a land far away, a certain woman who's hair looked like a clear night sky, was worried. She had been resting when a sudden jolt of pain in her heart awoke her. He youngest, her baby, was so sad. She could feel his own heart breaking. Lady Gaia rose from her bed and went towards his room. However, as she neared, the feeling seemed to wane. Through a crack in the door, she watched two of her boys talk.

"I feel like shit..." She heard her baby moan. He was face down on the bed with a pillow over his head.

"I told you and Pollux getting close to mortals would be a bad idea." A familiar, whiney voice chastised.

"Go away, _Klarion_. Don't you have something better to do, like terrorizing the Light?" Sagittarius growled.

"More important than keeping my little brother from beating his own head in? Nope. Slide over." Castor slid his hood down and sat next to him. "Despite how I feel about mortals, I understand your situation kiddo. You've gotten to really know them, gained their trust and given them yours. I'm sorry you had to do that to your friends but think of it like this. Sylphy and Gabe were there like we planned so they didn't die. Nobody was ever in any real danger."

"I know that. But you didn't see the hurt and betrayal in their eyes. After New Years, I could ignore it because as far as they knew, I wasn't myself. Just a puppet to the enemy. But this time, it was just worse. Now I _am_ the enemy. Robin could sense that I wasn't being forced to do anything this go 'round."

"That's good."

"You suck at the concerned older brother thing Cas."

"Quit sulking a moment and think 'Tari. It means Pisces will be trilled to know he's using the abilities she gave him. We've suspected it since we arranged for the Bat to take him in but this is proof. Even if he doesn't know he is. Seeing her watch him in her mirror like that is kinda depressing." A pale blue hand ran through raven locks, undoing the demonic hairstyle. "She lost him once, I think losing him again will tear her soul asunder."

"I guess."

"Annnddd...they have no choice but to confront their issues now. We gave them the chance when we set Dr. Fake free. Instead he decided to be a prick and not tell them anything helpful. He still thinks Mother's an evil bitch. So, she only gave him information she thought he couldn't screw up. Until today, he only thought there were us Gemini to worry about and I'll betcha Nabu still has no idea about Virgo and Pisces even though he's seen one of them every damn day for almost a year." Castor rubbed Sagittarius' back as he spoke. "This has been building far too long for them to waste anymore time not dealing with the things that will get them all killed in the near future. The real threat is coming soon. We've already broken our covenant to never directly get involved in mortal affairs because of it. In a while, we'll have no choice but to reveal ourselves fully. If we all survive what's to come, I'm sure they'll forgive you."

After a moment of silence, a pillow whacked Castor in the face.

"What was that for brat? I'm trying to help!"

"I know. You still suck at it."

Gaia smiled as she watched her children wrestle on the bed. Castor had his reasons for how he behaved; she understood. His personal tragedy led to meeting Sylphine and falling for her charm though so it wasn't a total loss. Still, it was nice to see her boys truly cared for each other despite how they acted. Without a word, she walked back to her room. The sound of laughter behind her brightening her mood.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"Well done my Adar Llachar*. I'm so sorry it has to be this way." A lone tear splashed onto the surface of a small mirror held by pale green hands. The image of a very overwhelmed Robin was clearly displayed.

"Talkin to yourself Isley? Better watch out or Strange might make you disappear like Crane and Tetch when they went 'batty' too." Killer Frost cackled from the adjacent cell.

"Shut it Ice Bitch!" Fright yelled from a few cells down.

"I'm soo scared. Without your powers you're both too weak to defend yourselves during yard time. Remember that. You're not so to(cough) what the hel(cough) Bleggghh!"

A loud splash caught he guards' attention. As did the water flowing out of the ice villaness' cell. They arrived to find the pale woman on her hands and knees vomiting the clear liquid in massive amounts. It was impossible for a human stomach to hold that much yet, it poured from her mouth by the gallon. Finally her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell face first into the puddle unconscious. The staff stood in bewilderment before they finally slung her onto a stretcher and carted her away.

Cell Block B2 was quiet for sometime before the murmurs started. Pamela "Poison Ivy" Isley chuckled to herself as the mirror she had been looking into liquefied and was absorbed into her skin. The inverted parentheses with a single line through them on her bare foot flared blue before fading away.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

*Adar Llachar, Welsh for Bright Bird

Poor Sagittarius...see he's not a total bastard. Okay for anyone not sure...

Zodiac Knights

Mother-Lady Gaia

Castor-Klarion

Pollux-?

Sagittarius-Roy

Pisces-Poison Ivy

Virgo-?

Epsilon-Cheshire

Power Swap

Artemis-Aqualad

Kid Flash-Superboy

Rocket-Black Canary

Robin-Zatanna

Aqualad-Ms. M

Zatanna-Kid Flash

Superboy-Rocket

Black Canary-Artemis

Miss Martian-Robin

The next couple of chapters will focus on only a few characters at a time. There will be plot progression but back story and character development too. The clues are all there for you guys to figure out who Pollux and Virgo are on your own. Sirensoundwave out.


	8. Perfect

Hey, two updates in less than 24 hours. Whoo-hoo! This chapter is kinda angsty. It focuses on the Dynamic Duo for 90% of it then we get a peek at the real enemy. Not much else to say so Simple Plan's Perfect is our intro.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 8

Perfect

Robin had known for sometime that the man who accepted him as his son, saved him from the life of as foster child in a nation that was not his own, did not fully trust him. It hurt like no tomorrow and he tried his best to ignore it.

Ignorance is bliss right? Wrong. Whoever first said that should be shot.

Being the smart little bird he was, Robin knew he was damaged. Who wouldn't be after seeing their parents fall to their deaths? Over a debt that very show would have finished paying off. Oh the irony.

Still, as Richard, he strove to be the 'perfect son' in the public eye. Best grades, best attendance record, best at any sport requiring grace and agility. The Prince of Gotham Academy. As Robin, he was the Boy Wonder, sidekick (he also knew that people never saw him as more than that) to The Batman, Gotham's Dark Knight. Master hacker and wisecracking acrobat who was deceptively cute and harmless until he knocked you senseless.

Still neither side was him and it was driving him crazy. He hated his status at school. His grades, athletic prowess, popularity the girls and position as heir apparent to the largest fortune in the state could not erase the stigma of who he had been when he was first adopted. A charity case. Bullies at school never let him forget he had been just a little gypsy boy until age 7*. A circus freak the billionaire playboy felt pity for.

High society was just as scornful. Galas and soirees and whatever other fancy name rich people attached to parties were constant reminders that he was an outsider. He heard the whispers when people thought he wasn't around. Some were genuinely innocent but still hurt (That poor child, he's so lucky Wayne kept him; So young to win the lottery of life right after such a tragedy). Others were cold (Little brat thinks he's hot shit just because Wayne needed a publicity stunt; Street urchins do not belong in our circles. Couldn't Bruce have just settled down with a nice girl and had a family naturally? God knows he probably has enough bastard children, why adopt another?). Some were really perverted (I wonder what the boy does to earn his keep. He is rather beautiful...; You know since that child came around, Wayne hasn't really dated much. Playboys like him don't just quit cold turkey, he has to be satisfying his urges somehow).

Dick still couldn't explain how the woman who made that last remark suddenly upturned an entire drink tray on herself and just happened to be near the fireplace. The fireball that resulted scared the shit out of her and became a source of shame in the media.

Other strange things happened to him as Robin. Shadows seemed to seek him out and hide him. It wasn't that big of a deal because they did the same to Batman. He could attribute it to just a perk of ninja stealth. Other things were harder to ignore.

For instance, he seemed to have the ability to screw with probability. Two-Face's coin never landed on a side when he was around. It always got caught on a crack or roll into an obscure corner or something. If a bad guy was about to do something risky, the worst possible outcome would result. The Scarecrow's fear gas filled balloon going up in smoke on launch; Bane diving for him and the hose supplying his drug snagging on a piece of pipe; Harley shooting Joker with an boxing glove projectile meant for the Boy Wonder. That same luck caught his cape on buildings when a jump probably would have killed him; told him to move when things the Bat wouldn't have sensed were coming and generally preventing him from ending up dead more times than he could count. Then there was how much force it took to prevent him from killing Zucco two years ago. A grown man having to go full stop on a twelve year old.

At first he thought it was because he could be a meta that Bruce didn't trust him. No metahuman (or really any other) heroes were allowed in Gotham with out Batman's permission. It had been a condition of his joining the league. He wasn't sure if the older man had noticed the same things but the thought of talking to him about it was terrifying.

So, he secretly tested his own DNA after years of trying to ignore it this past February. Nothing but 23 normal chromosome pairs. So he wasn't a meta but that wasn't really a victory. Zatanna and her father appeared normal to scientific testing as well. Maybe he was a witch or something. With his Romanian gypsy background it certainly would make sense. Still he couldn't do anything that could actually be proven more than a result of training and skill. It was frustrating.

After the power swap it became very obvious that he really was different. In only 20 minutes, Megan had managed to cause the girls' showers to flood, her room door to short out and a small fire involving a frayed wire in the kitchen. Then there was the sudden upward shift of a tile on the floor when Zatanna startled her by speeding at her. Without her Martian abilities or even touching anything. It took two attempts to place an inhibitor on her (the first, predictably, exploded in her uncle's hands) even though she was somewhat willing. Robin had watched them program it specifically to her new ability and the realization was as subtle as an atom bomb from the code entered on the main computer.

He was the same as a juvenile villain in the making named Jinx from Jump City. Fear of his possible powers and being cast aside by Bruce had suppressed them to a point but Megan had no idea what was happening. So they were impossible for her to control at all. Batman, who had since been healed, was the one doing the coding. He could see the wheels in the Dark Knight's mind turning as he deduced who had who's skills. The look his second father gave him after Megan was fitted was unreadable. He really wanted to throw up. He wanted to retreat into the world where he was Putin Pusare and he had more control.

Bruce watched his little bird shift uncomfortably on the sofa.

After waking up and blinking at two pairs of eyes, one gold the other violet, Batman's first instinct was to figure out what happened to his son. Once he was assured Robin was still breathing, he had immediately gone to the other leaguers with the proposal of Belle Reve inhibitors. He didn't have all the facts but he was sure that the children were far more dangerous than they anticipated. Seeing Wally fight like a puppet, oblivious to the damage done to his body first hand proved that. That strange aura around Roy was somehow affecting them and at the moment they had no idea how or to what extent. For all they knew, it was slowly warping their minds to whatever side the redhead was on.

After an round of 'hell nos" and "fuck yous" they all agreed that having their regular powers would be fine but right now they were a danger to themselves and others. Everyone allowed a collar to be placed around their necks.

Okay Wally had to be rendered unconscious again then have his placed on. When he woke up again, 'unhappy camper' was the understatement of the century.

It was fairly easy to figure out who had gotten whose abilities. It meant that two of those affected should have no powers at all. This was not the case. As far as he could assess, only Black Canary was without superhuman enhancement. That wasn't possible. She had obviously picked up Artemis' feelings. His little bird had hidden more from him than he thought.

Sometime after the Zucco debacle, the two of them had begun to drift apart. Dick became so guarded and Bruce didn't know how to approach him anymore. He was also more than a little concerned that his son had basically become a juggernaut that night. He would never admit it to anyone but Robin almost killed Batman that time.

As Bruce Wayne and as Batman, he had the communication skills of a trained chimp. He knew it, the League knew it, the Wayne Enterprises PR department who wrote his speeches and sound bites knew it. The world's greatest detective was as quiet as he was not only out of mystery and broodiness but sometimes he couldn't relay his feelings on things. Thoughts were easier to verbalize. Still, he had learned long ago that he tended to be blunt and to the point, coming off as cold and uncaring.

He loved Dick as much as he could if he were his real child. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt him. He just had trouble showing it. His idea of concern was spying on the young man. He started with his online activity.

A few years ago, a game called Karuselo de Sonĝoj kaj Koŝmaroj took the online world by storm. The title was Esperanto for Carousel of Dreams and Nightmares. It was a massive international online RPG where players registered as a wide assortment of creatures including humans, metas, aliens and demons of all kinds. Didn't see the being or job you wanted? Submit a full description to the AdminHub and they might add it to the game. Most of Young Justice played in their free time.

In the world of KSK, Dick was known as Putin Pusare, Romanian for Little Bird. His race was Pierrot, a trickster that wore a mask but there was no face under it. Otherwise they looked human. The mask could change to express emotion but not like a human face. Something had to briefly cover it to go from a smile to a frown**. The lips did not move when he spoke nor did he blink. His character was a performer in a traveling circus. When not under the big top, he often made deals with those he crossed usually for items of power or money or odd jobs to keep busy. The problem was deals with tricksters were risky. Especially if you were a criminal. Pierrot could see into other characters' souls. It never stopped them from accepting a trade or job, only determined if their business partner was about to get shafted. He could place curses on items he sold or traded, even cast spells to them directly to cause bad luck. Sometimes that's why people came to him. Revenge. The price for these jobs was often the soul of the intended target. It made him level up.

Bruce could see the choice of such a character as both unsurprising and disturbing. Unsurprising because he knew Dick loved the life of a performer and it reminded him of his family before Gotham. It was disturbing because the boy felt he had no identity, he wore a mask to hide that there was nothing underneath. He protected the innocent and punished the guilty with a vengeance. Putin was known to enjoy the suffering of his victims, laughing and taunting them when his traps were activated and misfortune befell them; often to bloody ends. The graphics were quite...detailed.(AN: Digital Cookies to whoever figures out who this sounds like.)

He noticed the strange things that happened around him in the real world but was at a loss for how to address them. The testing he did prior to the finalization of the adoption proved the boy was as human as him. He couldn't explain where these powers came from. He knew Dr. Fate could be a good source of information. He also didn't trust the Lord of Order as far as he could throw him. Something about the way he did things lead Bruce to believe the Helmet of Fate was leading them all around by the nose. Unfortunately the only proof he had was research done on the Watchtower computer on a Dr. Jasmine Fenton. Her specialty was dream therapy and was a respected authority on adolescent behavior. It seems he'd drawn most of his conclusions from her writings.

Until he had more of a leg to stand on, he would have to just be cautious with the Sorcerer Supreme.

But none of that could distract him from the pain he knew Dick felt but he couldn't ease.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"Father, this is taking forever!" A young woman roared. She was watching a crystal glow steadily. Above it, a seal in the form of a circle divided into four quadrants shined bright. Every once and awhile, a pulse from the circle entered the crystal and the glow increased a little.

"Be patient Shiva darling. My dear sister Gaia is more powerful than you know. Your 'cousins' and their servants will be another issue. Not only from Gaia's realm but Aurii's and Ebedi's as well." A deep voice rumbled in the darkness.

"I say we destroy them all. We've been draining her powers for eons." Shiva scoffed.

"Once again sister you speak before you think. We need Gaia's realm to survive long enough for it to accept Father as it's Guardian and us as it's Chaos Mages." Another young woman sneered. "If Auntie Gaia hasn't realized she's being weakened by now, then it only serves to show she has no right to be a Guardian. So sweet and soft on the wretched creatures tearing her world apart. It's sickening. They need to be put in their place."

"Shut up Kali." Shiva snapped. "I know that. But it's got to be okay to get rid of our 'cousins' right? Do it one at a time and replace them. It'll make it easier to disrupt her hold on the realm."

"Why Shiva, _that_ is an idea worth exploring." Her father chuckled.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

*I know in the comics the Graysons die when Dick is 8. I changed the age so he has literally spend half his life with both families. Remember when YJ starts, Dick is 13. It's the summer after Auld Acquaintances and his birthday is March 19th so he's 14 in this story. Fun Fact: It matters what continuity you're following when his birthday actually is. I got tired of looking and just picked the month I found the most sites for. March and November were almost tied. March works better because of who his mother turns out to be too. Look at a Zodiac chart ;-P

**Inspired by Hexadecimal. Anybody remember Reboot? One of the first fully CGI shows on TV? No? Whatever.

Well, there you have it. A look at what's up with Dickie Bird and Batsy. I also introduced the real enemy everyone should be worried about and started to tie this story together with The Road to Hell. I always intended to bring the two stories together but the characters don't meet until much later. It's why I don't feel this story deserves to be in the crossover section.

Ideas for the next few chapters are:

Aqualad/Aquaman "Careless Whispers" cover by Seether or "Welcome to My Life" by Simple Plan

Superboy/Superman "Burn" by Papa Roach or "Hero" by Nickelback

Rocket/Icon "Mad World"by Gary Jules or "Fortune Faded" by RHCP

Artemis/Green Arrow/Red Arrow "Panic Switch" by SilverSun Pickups or "Dirt Room" by Blue October

/Zatara "Fade" by Staind or "What a Shame" by Shinedown

Kid Flash/Flash "Lying From You" by Linkin Park, "Fuel" or "Master of Puppets" by Metallica.

I'm open to ideas. Sirensoundwave out.


	9. Burn

Allo! This is Superboy's chapter. You get to find out what happened after Lois was "rescued" from Sagittarius. And why Wally attacked Superman. It follows the premise of Superman's change of heart in Auld Aquaintances...to a point. There's a reason this song was picked.

Warning: If you're a die-hard Superman fan, I may just piss you off...

Papa Roach fires it up with Burn.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 9

Burn

The year didn't start out that bad. Minus the whole Starro-Tech disaster.

Conner was elated that Superman had finally looked him in the eyes and treated him like a person. The Man of Steel told him that he had a whole new respect for The Boy of Tomorrow. Not dying while fighting a Kryptonian puppet, leaping into a battle there was a good chance you might not win for the sake of the world was a feat worth praising. He was proud to say he had a son.

Clark first talked to Lois three days after New Years when she came back from an out of town assignment. She came home to their apartment to find Connor staring at the static on the living room TV. Puzzled, she asked him who he was around he same time Clark came out of their bedroom in a bathrobe having just showered. He answered her question.

The official story was that Conner Kent had come to Metropolis to live with his 'uncle' Clark and his fiancee for a few months. Conner was a relative who's parents had died suddenly. He was coming to stay with them until a more permanent arrangement could be made.

She saw through that lie before the last word left Clark's mouth. She yanked him into their room.

"Clark, I'm not stupid. He looks just like you. If that hand shaped dent in our front doorknob-"

"Sorry!" Connor called from the front room.

"-is any indication, he's Kryptonian or at least a Metahuman. He's not a farmboy, despite his build. So, who is he really? I've met parrots that lie better than you Smallville."

"Lois, he's a relative I didn't lie about that. He's my son."

Lois's left eye did that thing that always made Clark and Superman cringe. It twitched. The universal sign for '"you have 5 seconds before I use the Kryptonite in the lead lined locket you gave me after the Bizzaro incident".

"Wait Lois! He's a Cadmus clone but nothing like the mentally deficient one a few years ago. The kids found him and set him free. I haven't been the nicest to him-" He panicked.

"Understatement." Connor interrupted again. "Why are you even back there? Unless you drive to Star City I can totally hear you."

"It's called privacy sweetie. I know you can tune stuff out. If you couldn't, you both would have been driven crazy by now." Lois said closing her eyes. The tilted her head to the ceiling.

"Oh. Okay."

"As I was saying I've been kind of an ass to him but he's really a good kid. He's part of Batman's Special Ops team. Sorry I didn't call you first but Conner really needs this; spending time together will be good for both of us."

"Oh, Smallville, you know I'm not mad. He's welcome here. I don't really do kids but teens are like slightly younger adults. How old is he?"

"About six months, give or take a few weeks."

"Huh?"

"Long story, tell you later. How was your trip?"

Things went pretty smoothly afterwords. Connor spent a lot of his time with Lois. Her last assignment was the last one before a mandated vacation ordered by the Daily Planet editor in chief. He reviewed her attendance and found she hadn't had one in 5 years. Not wanting his star reporter to burn out, he resorted to threatening her job to take two weeks off.

She took him shopping ("Those clothes make you look like a goth. The hair and constant blank look don't help sweetie."). Talked with him about how she met Clark and caught him up on daily life in Metropolis. She cooked for him, even though that usually meant heating up something prepackaged. Still it was nice. It was more or less how he figured a real mom would act. She called him 'sweetie' a lot too.

Between his paid job and his vigilante gig, Clark was really busy. The League was worried about The Light, the Chief needed the slack from Lois's vaca picked up. Still he managed to go out to diner with them, catch a few movies and just lounge around the apartment every once in a while

He finally understood why Artemis was so unhappy. Being part of a family was nice and she missed it. Knowing people loved and cared for you despite how you came to be. _Or it was_.

Every thing was fine until the third week of March. He was on his way home from Metropolis PS 119 when he heard his mother yelling at his father like a crazy woman. He couldn't understand most of it as he was a little too far away and the sounds of the city kinda drowned the argument out. He didn't really need to as her tone was very clear. As he neared the building, things were much easier to pick out.

"-rk you bastard! How could you do this to him!"

"Lois you don't understand. Just listen. Project Kr-"

"Connor! His name is Connor you idiot! C-O-N-N-O-R! I don't care that he is Lex's son too. It's not his fault! Paternity doesn't determine who you are. Sagittarius didn't just kidnap me. He told me all about your warped ideas. You only invited the poor boy here so you could watch him like a lab rat. See how much of a threat he could become. He had recordings of you and some of the others talking about it. Video even. We talked a long time before you three stooges showed up. You can't even deny it, can you?

I feel so stupid. Huh, you actually managed to fool me for a change. I love Connor, he's a sweet boy just a little awkward. That's easy to overlook seeing as his childhood was 3 weeks long in an over-sized test tube. With the right guidance, he could become a great hero. You ought to be more worried about the fact that somebody got into the Watchtower without any of you capes noticing."

"Lois, listen to me. Proj-"

Eye twitch.

"Connor's original programing was to destroy me. Cadmus is too clever to let that be wiped clean by a bunch of teenagers trying to prove themselves to their mentors. I'd like to believe friendship and love are that strong but both of our past experiences say it just isn't. Jonn didn't find any sleeper mechanisms in Connor's mind but he didn't find any in Roy's either and look where that got us. We know the Light plays for keeps. Anyone willing to steal and clone a child to take down his friends and family plays for keeps. He. Is. Dangerous."

"Two completely different scenarios Super Deadbeat! No one knew Roy wasn't Roy. Now the poor kid can't take the guilt. He OD'ed again, it was all over the new this week. Clone or not, they are both people with thoughts and feelings of their own. They both hate that they were made by Cadmus and programmed to kill. We saw what it did to Roy. You really wanna have that happen to Connor? You don't toy with a person's heart like that." He heard the sound of a suitcase clicking shut. "Oh and while we're talking about screwing with feelings, if he was so dangerous, why did you leave me 'a mere mortal' alone with him? For like two weeks? This _better_ be _good_."

"You have that necklace, honey. Situations like this are why I had Batman make it for you. I didn't want you to worry about it. I know you've always wanted a kid but our careers put a hold on that. I figured you could see what it's like in case you ever decided to slow down."

The apartment was so silent the teen could hear the fly that landed on a wall. He finally heard a delicate clinking noise followed by a door slam. Then a long suffering sigh.

Connor stood outside looking up at where they were in the 6th floor. He could hear Lois stomping to the elevator and pressing the button. He resisted the urge to level something. He knew massive property damage wouldn't solve anything. Megan had become alarmed by the negative emotions thrumming through their bond. Two states away, she panicked and fell half way through a cartwheel on the field. Right on her ass.

/Connor what's wrong?/

/He LIED, Megan. All this time he was just watching me to make sure I didn't go berserk. He used Lois too and she's pissed!/

/Oh! Connor I'm so sorry.../ He could tell his girlfriend was crying in Happy Harbor. He knew the Bumblebees were probably crowded around her trying to figure out what's wrong.

/I'll see you soon Megan./

/Wait you're still in Metropolis right?/

/Yeah. But there's a zeta beam transport entrance a few blocks away. I'll just crash at the cave til you comeback. Catch up on my KSK account. I think I'll do some modifications to it./

Without another word, Connor walked away. He didn't even bother to get his things.

That's when he woke up, startling the real Megan out of her own dream. Where had that come from? He wasn't sure if it was just a dream turned nightmare or what but he found himself actively avoiding Superman after that. He turned down his offers to train together. Left the room if he came in.

Little did he know, that dream would make sense in a short while. When the Lois was kidnapped by another whack-job.

Superman felt like a tool.

After the fight with Sagittarius, Lois had screamed at him for almost an hour. Then she packed a bag, threw her engagement ring at his face and slammed the door. Boy was he going to get an ear full when she called his folks from her father's house. His fiancee had just walked out on him. And as much as he wanted to blame Connor, deep down he couldn't. Not fully.

He was only being cautious. That's what he told himself. He just knew Conner wasn't as (relatively) harmless as the kids wanted to believe.

He needed a distraction.

Batman had shared with the mentors that each YJ member had an account on that new simulation game. Robin had offered to pay the fees for everyone. The Bat hacked the system and got their IDs so the League could monitor their fantasy lives.

His own avatar was just a simple reporter named Gordon Ross. No super identity. He only made the damn thing so he could interact with the world of KSK. He hadn't checked up on the city Connor made to mirror Metropolis in a few days.

Connor's avatar was SuperboyAlpha. He had made his character a Kryptonian with all the powers it entailed. His alter ego was also a crime fighter with a suit loosely based on his own without a cape and a mask over his eyes. By day, he was a martial arts instructor that owned a dojo. He protected the city he designed. Everything looked pretty kosher. Boy was he in for a shock when he logged on a few hours after Lois left.

The city of Shoreline Cove was in ruins.

High above the destruction was...SuperboyAlpha. Gordon watched as the clothing of his clone's avatar morphed into something he never wanted to see again; the red S on his chest became a purple U. The tights were replaced by black leather pants. A deep blue trench coat now fluttered in the breeze. To cement the horror, his Avatar name blurred before changing. To UltramanOmega.

Suddenly he dropped to the ground right in front of his character. Eyes glowing familiar red.

#This is what you wanted isn't it? To be proven right _Clark_?# Scrolled across the chat bar.

#How'd you know it was me?# Clark typed.

#Didn't 'til just now.# UltramanOmega smirked. #Bye-bye.#

His character's vision screen was enveloped in a deep red light. The screen showing the 3rd person view went red too. But the vision screen went black a moment later, the words FATALITY. AVATAR REBUILD OR REINVENTION REQUIRED TO CONTINUE showing soon after. A charred skeleton lay at UltramanOmega's feet. He crushed the skull with his foot before flying off.

Holy shit. Connor knew. He knew and he was pissed. How? Even more alarming, no one outside the League remembered the disastrous encounter the Crime Society of America and the evil counterparts to the JLA from a parallel dimension. The process of sealing that world away wiped the minds of everyone not crossing the barrier at the time. So how did he...

He'd get his answer in a few days when Fate called them all together.

_*She also has a very strong connection psychic to Superboy that greatly exceeds the one she has with other non-telepaths...He associates less of a moral factor with being a hero than simply taking out the cause of a problem. Adding to the complication, his mind, not M'gann's is dominant in their connection though it is possible both are unaware of it.*_

He pieced together the two evaluations, alone, after everyone had left. A dull thud echoed in the empty room as his head made a slight dent in the steel table when he had his epiphany.

Connor was psychic. _Outstanding_.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

While it's obvious everything in Superboy's dream didn't really happen, parts of it sorta did. Those feelings of betrayal were doubled when he realized Sagittarius was a real person and his dream was actually a premonition of what would have been had he begun interacting with Supes after New Years.

What do you think? I still need a song for Miss Martian's chapter. As always reviews are not required but are greatly appreciated. Sirensoundwave out.


	10. Welcome to the Family

Thanks to everyone reading this. The hit counter is moving faster than I thought it would. I wuv yous guys!

Okay, this is Aqualad's chapter. We learn about his mom and the promise she forced Queen Mera to make. And how dying words are sometimes open to interperetation.

Avenged Sevenfold starts thing off with Welcome to the Family.

Chapter 10

Welcome to the Family

Kaldur'um never knew his parents. He accepted that they were dead but like all children, he still longed for what could have been.

The method of dealing with orphans in Atlantis was nothing like the horror stories he heard about ones on the surface. No underfunded orphanages. There was no rampant physical, sexual or mental abuse within a dilapidated foster care system children simply aged out of with only a wing and a prayer the minute they were adults. He grew up as part of a composite family consisting of himself, a very nice man named Adri'ahn who was a tailor and a stern but fair man named Gesparj, enlisted in the royal guard.

The way the system worked, children were matched to composite families whom it was thought they'd adjust best to. The caregivers in these families were often former orphans themselves. Or families that wanted a child and either couldn't conceive or wanted to spare one the pain of feeling alone and unloved. They lacked the frivolous barriers found in the surface world that determined if you were composite material based on sexual orientation or religion.

When he told Raquel that he had been raised by two men, she looked at him oddly for a moment. She wasn't disgusted, just the idea wasn't common where she was from. The two were sitting on the stoop outside her aunt's apartment. They had a long talk about the philosophical, ethical, religious and practical implications of having the same system in the rest of the world. Certainly there would be less children suffering for no reason.

_* "Meh, you turned out okay. You're a hero for Christ sakes. Imagine what it would be like if they couldn't take you in just because they were in love. Those religious hypocrites we got up here need to visit your world."*_ She finally said before flagging down an ice cream truck and asking him if he wanted an Oreo ice cream sandwich.

Adri-ahn, whose mother died in labor and father could not bear to be reminded of his dead love, and Gesparj, who lost both his parents to illness, both grew up in the same composite and wanted others to have the same chance at happiness.

He once asked why he had no siblings if that was the case. Adri'ahn smiled sadly at him. He set the pants he was stitching down and took his small body into his arms.

"Oh Kalur'um, sometimes the things we wish and the things we are actually able to accomplish are not one and the same. If we welcomed another child, we would suffer in our ability to care for you both. Just know that Gesparj and I love you too much for that to come to pass." He kissed his forehead and began to sing him a lullaby. One about the calming deep blue sea in the moon's pale light.

He always knew he was different than his peers but he was unsure exactly how or why. His skin was one thing.

There were many complexions in Atlantis but he was quite a bit darker than his peers. It wasn't the same when comparing him to those who more resembled other sea creatures-their coloring was on par with their distant relatives.

Then there were his tattoos. He figured out on his own that they weren't really tattoos so much as birthmarks. His queen (and several others) only possessed them when using her abilities to the fullest. Yet they were not nearly as dark as his own. His had darkened quite a bit since he first noticed them as a child. They glowed when he concentrated and allowed him to play with water density and temperature when he was bored. They also gave him the unusual ability to conduct electricity. While not a rare feat in Atlantis, it was rare to do so without any formal training. It just came to him naturally as breathing. Speaking of breathing...

He had gills too.

Not one of his peers who share some ancestry with those of the surface world did. But he could find no record of anyone else like him. Adri'ahn and Gesparj always told him he was special. That there was no shame in being different. Variety was everywhere in the kingdom.

When it was revealed that he could used such advanced hard water and electrical abilities at only a few cycles old, he was enrolled at the Conservatory of Sorcery. There he befriended Garth and fell in love with Tula. It was saddening that his family was killed in an attack by the disgraced Prince Orm soon after. It merely strengthened his resolve to be a great protector of his kingdom someday. Queen Mera took a particular interest in him then. She tutored him personally and eventually her husband noticed him as well. He began to live in the palace, training to become part of the royal guard. These events put him on the path to eventually being chosen as Aqualad over his best friend. He always believed the position at his king's side was earned by his talents and character.

Recent events proved him wrong. And he felt the _tempest_ within begin to stir more violently than it ever had. Meditation had always quelled these unexplainable surges of power but he feared nothing would be able to hold back the coming storm now.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Arthur Curry stood beside the cave computer deep in thought.

He had a feeling that when the inhibitors were placed on the children, the order in which it was done would matter a great deal. Especially with how he knew psychic abilities tended to work particularly when the user was desperate. Mera always told him he needed to listen to those feelings.

He stared hard at Artemis. She now possessed many of his protege's physical attributes, down to her stance, gills and deep black areas of skin wrapped around her arms. Her eyes had even shifted from the crystal blue they were to the bright, almost electrified aquamarine of the young atlantean. All of these things set him on edge. He knew when his wife learned of what happened next, she would merely shake her head, tell him past mistakes have come back to haunt him and walk away from him intent on a long meditation.

After some brief experimentation, Fate was able to give Kaldur'um his correct physical form. He made the spell durable enough to survive the collar's negating ability. The instant it was placed on him, for lack of a better term, the shit hit the fan.

The simplest explanation was that Kaldur'um was still subconsciously reigning in his powers even though they were not in his physical possession. The martian girl's abilities solved that problem for him. And as soon as that psychic barrier was removed, the tsunami was unleashed.

"ARRRGGGHHH!" Artemis's eyes and markings glowed a bright aqua and Aquaman found himself flying across the room. He managed to get up just in time for the water from M'gann's flood to knock him over again.

The room was instantly on alert. Artemis was levitating while surrounded by the same colored aura as her eyes and now glowing new tats. If the sheer anger in a glare were heat vision, Aquaman would be a four foot deep crater right then and there.

"Liar! What else have you hidden from me?" The King of Atlantis narrowly dodged a blast of pure energy fired from her hands. "What truly happened to Adri'ahn and Gesparj? Did they learn of my heritage and abandon me or was it by your hand that they were made to disappear? Answer me!"

Another blast rocked the cave and rocks began to fall from the ceiling.

"Artemis you have to calm down! You'll kill everyone if you don't!" Kaldur'um pleaded with the angry girl. He knew exactly what the depths of her rage were and also know she was being consumed by it just as he feared he would be."Please, these feelings aren't yours! Remember who you are."

The older heroes attacked, intent on subduing the girl before she brought the place down around their ears. GL constructed a green hand to bind her arms to her side. At the same time, Dr. Fate and Martian Manhunter worked to calm her mind.

"Release me!" She roared.

"GAAHHH!" The second Green Lantern of Earth was electrified like a moth in a bug zapper. The energy had been conducted by his own construct back to his ring. Smoke rose from his body where he fell. His last thought before lights out? _Okay, that was new._

Superman tried the hands on approach with the same result. Luckily for him, he was able to hold on long enough for Flash to created a vortex around them. Being able to breathe in space, Superman was not affected by the sudden loss of oxygen. Artemis struggled but eventually blacked out in his arms. Batman quickly placed the inhibitor around her neck then glared at Aquaman.

"Start talking Curry. Until we know just what the hell that was, this is just a fancy new necklace."

Sighing, he looked over at Aqualad. The young man would not meet his gaze.

"It is called an Inner Torrent. It is a magical gift coveted and feared by those of our world. It is also part of the reason your birth mother and relative of mine, Lyun'ua was killed." He walked towards the boy he could no longer deny was his younger cousin. "The same codes for magical powers should work. Kaldur'um, we need to talk. Privately."

**Ennnt! **

Robin made the sound of a buzzer with his wrist computer, and frowned at Aquaman. Collar or not he was still not speaking. Several adults gave him a reproving look.

"Rob's right. This whatever it was almost buried us. Literally. This game of secrets needs to end before something kills us all." Rocket huffed. "It's really clear that both sides have been lying to each other about a lot...I sound like a counselor."

"You sound like me." Black Canary chuckled. "But it might be a better idea to do this in private sessions."

"No." Kaldur'um shook his head. "I refuse to follow you anywhere until you tell me what Sagittarius meant."

The king looked at his subject's defiant gaze in shock briefly before casting his eyes down.

He explained that Kal's mother had been a member of the royal court. She was not in line to rise to the throne but had the same status as a duchess. She was one of the few born with an Inner Torrent, a power said to come from Poseidon himself. With it she could use magic far superior than the top staff at the conservatory. Despite that, she was very gentle soul who abhorred violence. Her powers were rarely used causing many to doubt she even had them. She sought a way to end the feud between Atlantis and the man known as Black Manta. Whom she came to know as David.

He was unclear on the exact details, whether he truly loved or was only using her, but she bore him a son. They had been meeting secretly on land and aboard one of his underwater vessels. It was known that she was not married thus Kladur'um was considered illegitimate in the eyes of the court. When she tried to plead her case to her own family, she was arrested and sentenced to death for treason.

At the time, Aquaman was with the League on a mission. He learned of his cousin's death and the promise she asked Mera to keep only after his wife began speaking to him again.

_*Flashback*_

"_Mera...my son is not a monster. But I fear he may become one if David were to take him. You must promise me, he will live. He will grow up with people who love him and be able to chose as we all do what path to take." Lyun'ua lay dying in her bed. She had been granted the chance at suicide by poison for her crime; the 'dignified' option given to those in higher society._

"_Lyun'ua, that is something I cannot promise-"_

"_You are the Queen. If you desired a bridge to the surface, it would be made of subjects who would feel honored that your feet touched their unworthy backs." She smiled. "My soul sister, you will do this for me because you know it is right. David must never get his hands on Kaldur'um. The results will be dire. But he must live to decide for himself what he will be. Monsters are made, not born." She began to cough up blood._

"_Oh!" Mera clufched her hand knowing there was nothing to me done for her._

"_I haven't much time. Please. I understand that you could not save me and I am not angry with you Mera. But you must promise me he will not be condemned."_

"_I promise." Mera sobbed. Her soul sister smiled one last time before a rattling in her chest was heard. Blood spewed from her mouth, spraying the Queen's face and clothing. As suddenly as it began, the rattle ceased and she was dead._

_*End Flashback*_

"When I arrived home, Mera would not speak to me for a week. I pieced together what happened and banished the entire Court; it is how we became the sole monarchs without a consulting council. I placed you in the care of the two who raised you for I knew them to be kind hearted men. They knew of your origins and did not care. When your gifts manifested, I made sure that you were schooled." He breathed deeply. "Adri'ahn and Gesparj truly were killed by my half brother. He was angry over his banishment and blamed you personally. Oceanmaster took away the only parents you ever knew out of revenge. I know now I took Lyun'ua's warning too harshly. She wanted you to know why you were the way you were. She just did not want your father in your life. Instead I let my own fears distort her last words. I can only hope that in time you can forgive me Kaldur'um."

The silence long after the explanation was broken by a loud, grief stricken wail. Kaldur'um dropped to his knees and did something he had not done in years. He cried.

Rocket ran to him and wrapped her arms around his shaking frame. Not knowing what to do, she sang the song her aunt sang to her as a child. A lilting tune about the calming deep blue sea in the moon's pale light.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Did anybody notice the reference to who Aqualad becomes in the future? I'm blending all three versions of this character together (If you count Teen Titans there are technically five). This chapter is my explanation of the source of the abilities his older self has and why he never showed when he was younger. All that meditating he'd began to do was keeping it contained.

Don't worry, GL is fine... relatively speaking. He's had much worse before.

Tell me what you think guys. Artemis/Roy, Zatanna, or Rocket will be next. Sirensoundwave out.

P.S. I have a song for Miss. M's chapter now.


	11. White Rabbit

Whooo! I'm on a roll. I finished this last night but couldn't post it. Oh well.

This is about Artie, Ollie and yes Roy. We get to watch Artemis lament over her schizo family, Green Arrow go into full Daddy!Arrow mode, and Roy watches them both from his room in Lady Gaia's place wondering why they both just can't get it together.

Egypt Central's White Rabbit leads us down the rabbit hole.

Chapter 11

White Rabbit

Artemis would not remember putting the hurt on several league members. The time between seeing Kaldur look like Kaldur again and Sylphine hovering over her looking worried was a huge blank. A blank Zatanna and Megan would fill in quickly. It included the beat down, the confession by Aquaman and the twins helping.

Sweet and shy Sylphine instantly wanted to help 'fix their owies'. She was so adorable, the heroes still standing didn't have the heart to tell her a few scrapes and bruises were no big deal. That Kaldur's pain would be more complicated the heal. That the only one who needed such healing was passed out on the floor with possible nerve damage. When they watched Gabriel's version of 'helping' they wished they had told her.

He grabbed the serviceman's head and sent a massive jolt through his prone body. Green eyes shot open and he screamed in pain.

"Jesus Christ kid!" Green Lantern yelled at the silver haired boy after bolting upright. "You tryin' to finish the job?" Deep purple lightning was still arcing across his suit. Though his wounds were now gone, he still wanted to fall over and writhe in pain.

"Of course not." The child scoffed. He suddenly leaned closer so only GL could hear him. Or see the purple flash in his eyes. "If I wanted to end you, there isn't a damn thing you could do about it you intergalactic rent-a-cop."

Everyone looked at GL like he was nuts when he scooted away from the boy like his ass was on fire. Gabriel only smiled like an angel.

But seriously, who knew Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected was one bad day from cracking?

It made Artemis consider her situation. Was she angry? Hell yeah.

But she didn't have to worry about powers that she didn't really have. Only her own normal human options for self destruction and taking down others as collateral damage. She felt that she didn't really have anyone to go to with her problems. Canary was great but for reasons she could not describe, the blonde archer don't feel comfortable talking with her. Like everything she told her would make it back to the head honchos. Just what she needed. To feel like more of a bug in a jar.

Knowing that her sister and father were the ones with the codewords that triggered Red Arrow's programming made it worse. Because of someone she still had sisterly feelings for and the man she wished would go play in traffic on the Zaranj-Delaram highway*, her new family was crippled in a way they had yet to recover from. The Light situation was not under control. Roy wasn't going to get any better, especially since he was never sick. The League was not 'handling it'. Everything was not fine. No matter how Ollie tried to spin it.

Speaking of Ollie, she and him were like oil and water. She had no problem beating the daylights out of fuckers that got in her way with or without the bow. That was the only good thing that came from the torture Sportsmaster called training. She's seen Ollie without his arrows. He didn't die, but his pride did. He had to be saved by a little girl.

They argued a lot, just like he and Roy had. Like when he insisted that the time he got his ass kicked was a fluke. That he was a good fighter hand to hand. Uh-huh. She'd believe it when she saw it. The papers had to have been confused about Green Arrow showing up on Batman's turf.

She knew he was trying to keep her away from the path her family took. But the bond everyone else (barring Superboy) had with their mentors just wasn't there. They lived in different cities! She also knew she'd begun to push people away so she could never be hurt again. It was her fault as much as his.

She always suspected that there was something to her full ride to Gotham Academy. Her grades were good but not academic scholarship to such a hoity-toity school good. There she met Dick Grayson, whom she would later learn was her teammate, and the police chief's daughter Barbara Gordon. She couldn't believe that her father could afford such an education even on a top-cop salary. And he couldn't. Barbara was on the same scholarship as she was from the Wayne foundation. Oh, and the only female member of the bat-clan, Batgirl, who picked up the slack when Robin wasn't around.

Batman wasn't kidding about wanting final say about heroes in his city, young and old.

Sonnova bitch.

Times like these made her contemplate just leaving it all behind. Her mother, her sister, her sperm donor, Ollie...the team. Everything. She had begun to develop feelings for Kid Flash but how could he return them? She was so not worth the time of the Flash's nephew. She was so dirty no matter how many showers she took or how she reminded herself _"Hey, at least he did have the chance to rape you before you hit him in the nuts. You're luckier than most". _

That lie she could never completely believe. Her own father...he wasn't even drunk or high at the time. Her sister hadn't been around to protect her anymore. He mother was in prison thanks to her past. There was no pity just because she was paralyzed. She was an easy target in the slammer. And she hated them both for leaving her with that _monster_.

It was hard seeing her family often but knowing it could never be repaired. Not when her sister and father were trying to kill her at every one of these meetings. Or seeing the woman who once kicked in the heads of terrorists for her adopted country only to later become a supervillaness, robbed at gunpoint by some asshole that didn't care that she was in a wheelchair. All because her dear husband decided that if she wasn't going to be with him, she wouldn't be with anyone. Then tried to use Artemis as her replacement.

At first it was his hand resting on her leg or him holding her a little too long when they sparred. Then he started watching her weird when she hit puberty. He found interesting ways to catch her changing or naked. They were 'accidents'. Waking up with him looming over her was the final straw. He had pushed her nightshirt up and was fondling her as she slept. It didn't get beyond shoving his hand down her pants before she rabbit punched him in his happy place (which fortunately or unfortunately was hypersensitive at the time) and ran like the devil. Barefoot and terrified. Straight into the mess she was in now.

When she was younger, the Lewis Carroll stories had been her escape. A world where things were nonsensical and upside down on purpose was preferable to one that was but shouldn't be. So, when Robin paid for everyone's new hobby, Al1ce La$t was born.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Green Arrow was not going to admit it but seeing Artemis like that almost made him wet himself. Yeah...let's go with almost.

It brought front and center everything he wanted to keep from happening to her. Being swept up in something she could not control or get out of. Being trapped in a life that was not her own. He wasn't as close to her as he should have been but because of her tensions began to rise between himself and the Dark Knight. Coming to a head a few months ago; when he had his own violent episode.

He blamed that damn game fully.

It all started when the Bat gave him Artemis's online ID and a program to let him spy on her. He was doing it to keep her safe. Heroine or not, there were some serious whackadoodles out there in cyberspace. And it didn't take long for her to run into one. But she would never know that. So long as that oversized rat with wings didn't tell her.

Al1ce La$t was of course a denizen of the Wonderland (or Underland) themed area of the Karuselo de Sonĝoj kaj Koŝmaroj online world. Contrary to her actual self, she was simply a little girl in a blue dress, white apron, white stockings, black mary janes and a black hair bow. What made her stand out from the thousands of Alices was her hair bore a white rabbit clip on each side. She spent her time at tea parties, running through the forests and just meeting new people.

That's how she met the creep. An avatar named 10/6forTea modeled after the Mad Hatter.

Neither noticed the playboy pin up of a rabbit. A woman with big floppy white ears, a puffy tail, white hair and a stripper's body dressed in a green sailor suit that often appeared nearby. The name PeridotBuni hovering over her head.

At first it was completely innocent. He never asked her about who she was or anything. Instead he told her that he was an inventor in Gotham who happened to enjoy these stories too. They talked about childish things and liked to make up new words together. They met regularly for tea.

What made the hair on GA's neck stand up was the fact that the program Batsy set up went crazy several weeks after they met. This guy was tracing her profile and ISP signature trying to find out where she was. All while having a Mad Tea party with her and several others. The program automatically intercepted and began back-hacking him. 10/6forTea got a dummy location in Colorado. But he tried again.

But his location in a building near the outskirts of Gotham was already found. In the warehouse district.

This was not too far from where several young ladies, all some form of Alice online, were found beaten, suffering from severe neurological impairment, dead or a macabre hodgepodge of the three. The story was late breaking and the Bat had an idea of who was behind it but was having trouble finding the hideout's location. Something about him having gotten smarter. The bastard had somehow infected the Batcomputer with a virus when he tried the same thing. Oliver now knew exactly who and where he was.

This guy was so up shit creek without a paddle.

Green Arrow suited up and broke the single most important rule of the JLA. Don't set foot in Gotham unless you have a death wish. For messing with his daughter? This seemed like as good a day as any to die.

The headline the next day was Green Arrow had captured the Mad Hatter, beaten him within an inch of his life and blown his hideout sky-high. He turned Tetch over to the police with enough evidence to solve the case and put him under Belle Reve. During his strip search, the GPD discovered a message carved into his chest by an arrowhead. Backwards so it was readable in a mirror:

_There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter. Which luckily you are, Tetch._

Yes. Every last word of the quote. Needless to say there wasn't an unmarred inch of flesh on the man's torso. He would never forget the day he met a PO'ed Green Arrow.

The media was in a tizzy. People began saying that the Emerald Archer had lost his friendly nature and basically turned into an arrow wielding version of Gotham's hometown hero for one night. There was speculation that the Mad Hatter had done something to him personally that made him flip.

"What the hell was that all about? Seems rather personal." Batman glared at him on a Gotham rooftop.

"It was. That sicko was using the game the kids play to snatch girls looking for his perfect Alice. His next target was Artie. The software you gave me only worked to a point. We saw what became of the rejects. Every last girl who lived through that is now a drooling vegetable. I would have been more merciful if he had killed them." The marksman sat down and sighed.

"You could have let me handle this."

"Oh yeah cuz you were doing a bang up job of it! He was finding girls by their ISP address. It's why they were all from within a 20 mi radius. That could have been Artemis! She's already been through hell because the people who were supposed to protect her didn't! That's not going to happen again on my watch.

Chew me out all you want for trending on your territory but if another one of your rogues comes after her, he or she is dead." The Robin Hood of Star City hopped over the edge and out of sight. Even though he would do the same for his little bird, the Bat was left seething on the rooftop alone.

Things were about to get worse as their companies went head to head for a very lucrative account.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"Really Ollie? Just talk to her!"

"Master are you okay?" Epsilon poked his head into his master's room.

"Wha? Yeah. Just wishing Oliver would talk to Artemis or vice versa. Out of everyone, they have the smallest divide to cross." Sagittarius flopped back down on his bed, dismissing the sphere he'd been spying with. "But they're both so damn stubborn."

"Would you like me to Whisper to them? I bet they'd make up then." The child climbed onto the bed. He made himself comfortable in his master's lap. The ginger smiled (not in a creepy way you pervs! Get your minds outta the gutter) and ruffled his already unruly hair. Their relationship was much closer than his elder brothers and their servants. Not that he minded. Epsilon was almost always underfoot unless he sent Jade back to her father.

Pollux and Castor both told him that it was because the bond was new, only a few years old. Epsilon needed to be near him until the bond settled more. Then the he wouldn't be so clingy. And he would slowly start to remember the desperate plea Cheshire made to whoever was listening as she lay dying and what she sacrificed to make sure her sister had the chance she never did.

It was easy to keep her older self in the dark. The doll he had take her place simply transferred its memories to her when they switched places. Sportsmaster never suspected a thing either. The doll was a perfect imitation of his oldest child. Ollie really shouldn't feel bad about not noticing the 'clone'. His creations were flawless.

"It might come to that kitten. You're very strong, but we all agreed that Superman was the only one that wasn't going to change his outlook without help. And he's fighting my spell tooth and nail. I'm gonna have to amp it up. The others are at least trying to get over themselves. Nabu certainly ain't helping the situation."

"Oh. Are you still sad?"

"I'm gonna be Kitten until this mess gets sorted out. A lot of people I care for are hurting but it's a part of life. Falling is easy, it's getting back up that becomes the problem." He grumbled. "Let's go get some ice cream 'kay?"

"Yeah!"

The little boy bounced up then cartwheeled feet first into the swirling black portal followed by his chuckling master.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

*A highway in Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban and riddled with IEDs.

Poor Artie. She's had it rougher than her friends know. Stay tuned for more. Sirensoundwave out.


	12. The Catalyst

Hewwo! It was a bitch to find the right song (there were like 5 I came up with) for Miss Martian's chapter but Linkin Park's The Catalyst won out. Before we continue, a few author's notes and mailbag answers. So this chappie will be a scosche longer than the others. For some reason everyone keeps PMing me instead of reviewing. Whateves. As long as you're reading my story it's all good.

For the most part.

For starters, the avatars. Robin's I explained in "Perfect". Bats doesn't need one, he's hacked the game. Ultraman is the big boss of the Crime Society of America, an evil parallel twin deal to the Justice League of America. Supes pulled his avatar name out of his ass. Kaldur doesn't much like computers if they aren't mission related; neither does Aquaman. Artie's avatar is supposed to have an at sign but I realized afterwards that FFnet read it as a link and deleted it. It's suppose to say Al1ce"at"La$t. Yes PeridotBunni is Ollie's avatar which will be explained. I just dunno when. For now, just know that a peridot is a green gemstone.

Yes, the quote he carved is the Mad Hatter's chest is a quote from the 2009 Burton movie said by the Mad Hatter. Except the last word.

Yes KSK, Karuselo de Sonĝoj kaj Koŝmaroj, is the MMORPG Tucker created in my first story. Yes Dr. Fate researched the same Dr. Jasmine Fenton from that story as well. I always intended to bridge the two stories together it's just the characters won't meet for a while. For this reason, I didn't list it as a crossover. Elements from the previous story will continue to bleed through.

I will not name flamers. You know who you are, so I ask you: If I have done such a poor job portraying the characters and my writing is so god awful, why are you brain damaged enough to have kept reading this long? Just wondering, yo. If you're reading this now, there is something wrong with you. Get some help, please. I am not sneaking into houses or jumping people who have smartphones with a gun. Nor is this a mandatory high school reading assignment. See the back button? Click it. It will take you to other stories. I swear.

I did warn everyone that I would be messing with certain things about our heros and villians. Why? So much of everyone's backstory in the YJverse is missing, it's easy to fill in the blanks. The writers have left it that way for future plot development or for us to assume on our own based on the versions we know best.

Also, because I can. Nyah.

Anybody bitching about the songs I decide on obviously didn't read the AN in chapters 1 and 2 so...I don't really care what you have to say. Sorry. I do thank those trying to be helpful with suggestions or who wanted to know my view and politely asked. You guys rock.

I know I forgot the last two disclaimers. My bad ; )

Now, this will be a bit of a history lesson. I'm not ecstatic about the time skip but there things from it I find cool and will use. Some are DC canon and were gonna be in here anyhow. Here we go.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 12

The Catalyst

M'gann realized very quickly that she had Robin's aura echoing around her. It felt the same as it did when she could still sense others. The feeling of being lonely even among good friends and constantly having to live up to what others expected in a bizarre parody of proving she wasn't what others thought were things they had in common. It started for her about 50,000 earth years ago. Give or take a century.

No, M'gann wasn't that old but she may as well have been. It was the beginning of the Great War, White Martians' descent into second class citizenry and the events that made her human friends the way they are. Because of a few, many were condemned and many more were forever lost. And she bore the weight of transgressions that were not her own.

At first, both white and green martians co-existed peacefully. They studied the universe together. When earth began to show signs of becoming a sister civilization, many awaited the day humanity evolved enough to meet and understand them. Some however were not content to wait. Some wanted results sooner.

In these days, humans had become modern looking but had yet to develop much beyond their primate mentally. Some scientists, white and green, began to study earth more closely hoping to learn more about where the race was going evolutionarily. Some got a little more handsy than others. A group of White Martians decided to experiment on early man trying to unlock their potential. The results of their first foray? Vandal Savage.

He had been a caveman who first encountered a meteor directed to earth by her ancestors. The radiation gave him immortality. It as more of a cosmic fluke than an experiment but it gave them the idea to go forward. Working in secret, knowing how they would be judged on their home world, the scientists repeated the process in more controlled instances. It was tortuous and caused the deaths of almost half the population before the mutation known as the metagene appeared in a stable fashion.

This rapid decline caused the homeworld to take notice. The scientists declared that White Martians were mentally superior because of their successes and abilities. That they should rule Mars. The Great War they started forced many who were non-violent to fight against their neighbors as everyone was swept up in the pandemonium. In the end, a planet that was once a 50/50 split was now 30/70 in the green martians favor. The war ended but it's legacy lived on.

Physical appearance was only one reason she was spat upon on her homeworld. It became the general belief that White Martians were prone to evil deeds. That if not kept in their place, they would rise up and destroy the Green Martians in revenge for halting their take over. Her family tried to shield her from the hate as best they could. They told her that being born a white martian did not make one evil. One day, everyone would see that and peace their ancestors knew would return.

But she knew it wouldn't. Not in her lifetime. Hearing stories of the Martian Manhunter on Earth gave her an idea. He had dozens of brothers and sisters still on Mars and hundreds of nieces and nephews. She could leave Mars and assume the role of one of these nieces. No one would know right? She'd have a chance to be free on the planet with so many other races of the same species existing together.

She was wrong on both accounts. For all their diversity, human history proved them to be no better than her own people when judging others without even knowing them and it terrified her. She hid herself as part of the caucasian race because they were least likely to be persecuted. It made her sick to have only succeeded in shifting from oppressed minority to a supposedly oppressive majority with her disguise. Both identities she assumed on Earth made her feel as though she was betraying her family on Mars. Then, "Uncle" Jonn found out she was a fraud.

Before she could take the Bioship and run away, he stopped her and told her he had always known. That he was not angry with her, only saddened that a child would be driven so far by fear and scorn from their own people. That he was honored to have such a brave strong niece. A person, not their physical appearance, determined their own character. Then things were alright. Another lie.

Only Connor accepted her for what she really looked like without flinching. He loved her for who she was, not her appearance. She knew the rest of the team was just caught off guard when she revealed herself but it wasn't the same. She could feel faint echoes of hurt and betrayal from them that day. Even though they had since vanished, they had still been there. And Uncle Jonn well...

He trusted and believed in her. Not white martians in general. She had proven to be an exception to the rule he had been taught all his life. As desperately as he wanted to dismiss those prejudices, he couldn't. Not all the hurt the most; she wanted to know why. It made her feel literally like an alien in her own skin. Maybe they should talk...

Until then, she relished the time she could just be like everyone else. Be someone else. Be Bishojo IronchefShiroiKo, owner of a successful restaurant in the world of Karuselo de Sonĝoj kaj Koŝmaroj.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Jonn J'onzz felt the intense self loathing and fear of rejection rolling off of his niece. All the things her powers helped her hide and now were bared for all with the faintest of psychic power. He at first thought they were merely Robin's aura echoing over her own but soon saw that the feelings were so similar it just felt that way. He instantly began to question the course of action they had taken to monitor the children. Especially after witnessing Artemis unleashing the tempest that had been brewing inside young Kaldur. The one who had seemed most mentally stable.

He was already uncomfortable invading her online sanctuary. As Bishojo IronchefShiroiKo (Literally Beautiful Girl Iron Chef White Child, a nod to her true heritage a White Martian) she ran a restaurant avatars came from far and wide to dine in. Her food, when prepared well, helped her patron's level up and gain new abilities. Her species was a Culinary Conjurer, who could truly make magic in the kitchen. In order to attain her status as a restaurant owner, she had competed against hundreds of others demonstrating her skills at cooking, management in the kitchen (she employed other users) and problem solving using knowledge of in game characters' strengths and weaknesses when it came to ingredients.

For example, she could not cook the same dish to serve for extra life points in a goblin as she would serve to a yeti. It would probably kill the goblin. A certain root that when boiled granted humans super strength for several days would be lethal to them if added to a stir fry or salad uncooked. Powdered, it made fairies fall into a deep sleep and rendered werewolves unable to retain their full form for a month. Frivolous things really but he had noticed that the increased mental exercise made her sharper on missions. In truth, it had done so far all the children who had accounts.

Without her shield, he knew she was afraid that she was a traitor to her fellow White Martians. That she was ashamed of the mistakes her ancestors made but bitter at their suffering. She could not understand why he claimed to be tolerant yet only felt that way about her. It was simple really. He knew M'gann to be a good person. That was it. To blindly accepted that every White Martian was as kind as her made as much sense as assuming they were all evil except for her. If it was one thing living on Earth had taught him, it was that you don't know anything about a person until you tried to befriend them. Or at least been civil to them. But even then everything was not always as it seemed.

He wanted to make her understand that. That he did not hate her or her race. That he knew people's personas were as varied as the stars in the sky. Trust could not exist in a vacuum, it had to be mutual if a relationship has any hope of lasting. Jonn knew that he trusted her but she still feared abandonment.

It was part of the reason she and Connor had latched onto each other. It had since developed beyond that but the two of them were similar to Robin. The difference was he kept others at a distance despite his friendly demeanor. The two of them had sought out another suffering from an identity crisis in order to lift one another up not drag each other down. He gave her the strength to continue on. She gave him the serenity not to cause destruction on a massive scale when upset. They gave each other mental bond constituted marriage on Mars but he doubted she knew that.

But as things were progressing, it was another thing he'd have to share with her and soon. He was starting to see all their lives may depend upon being honest about their fears and pasts.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

_/Yes! Two converts!/_

_/But we're still stuck with seven other pairs of morons./_

_/Six and a half. One doesn't really count./_

_/Not to you./_

_/...you're never going to let that go are you?/_

_/Hell no!/_

_/For affinity sake...you wanna fight for him, fine. Just remember, you fucked it up the first time. You were the moron. He's finally to the point he can let someone into his heart again. It just might not be you. It might be that mortal girl. She likes him too./_

_/Yes because that will work out fantastically, watching her wither away. She's damaged goods anyhow. He needs someone with self-esteem, that can take char-/_

BAM!

The room turned to see Gabriel flat on his back and glaring at his sister. Sylphine was standing over him eyes brimming with tears as he nursed his bleeding nose.

"I'm soo sorry Gabriel! I saw a spider on your face! You know I'm ascared of them!" She wailed. "Let me fix it." She added innocently.

_/You little bitch./_

_/Takes one to know one. It wasn't nearly as hard as I could have hit you. I can fix it for you./_

_/Yeah, I'll bet you can./_

"It's okay Syl. No big deal, I got it." He groaned. A soft purple glow covered the hand over his nose and the blood stopped.

GL wondered why he couldn't have been that gentle with him.

Wally glared at the boy like no tomorrow, but went unnoticed. Mostly.

Dr. Fate had been watching all three of them with suspicion.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Now you know why Miss M is the way she is and how a member of the light came to be (my interpretation anyway) Megan and Jonn are the most willing to overcoming their barriers, yay! Sylphine shows she's not so sweet when you make her mad (betcha thought it was her ranting) and Nabu begins to suspect the twins are a bit off. Rocket will be next followed by Zatanna, then Kid Flash. Yes the order is important. If you want a ranking of relationships explored so far...

Miss M/ Manhunter: Most likely to mend first.

Artemis/Green Arrow: She wants a dad, he wants a daughter. Both are stubborn.

Robin/Batman: Two emotionally stunted people who need help communicating. Badly.

Aqualad/Aquaman: Trust issues abound.

Superboy/Superman: FEMA level disaster requiring divine intervention; which has been received.

Stay tuned! Sirensoundwave out.


	13. Mad World

Sup. This is Rocket's chapter. I will admit I don't know much about her beyond how she met Icon. I know almost as little about Icon. So I'm gonna make it up. The only Dakotaverse hero I know anything about is Static since Gear was actually modelled after Virgil's gay best friend Rick Stone (who as far as I can tell had no abilities other than talking Virgil into not going off half cocked) and does not exist in the Milestone Media comics. There's more I could rant about but I have a feeling some of you have no idea what I'm talking about. I like Gear though so he and Static will be mentioned with a bit of creative licensing (...it's been off the air how many years? I FORGOT stuff). Everyone's favorite firebug too. The II after Icon's real name is a typo in chapter 3. It should be IV.

Warning: Static Shock was toned down A LOT to be suitable for a Saturday morning cartoon show. Actually, every comic book has been.

Mad World covered by Gary Jules starts us off.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 13

Mad World

This was shaping up to be an interesting day. Raquel still had water in her ears from the amusement park but it hadn't dulled her hearing. If she still felt like herself, she would have belted that son of a bitch right in his face for making Kal cry like that. She never knew her folks either but she was pretty sure she knew who they had been. Her mother had been a firefighter. Her dad was a police officer.

Which made it so messed up that they died while off duty during the riots. Their family had been out shopping when the madness started. She, her sister and their aunt were the only ones to survive the crash. Still Lenora Ervin was badly scarred on her back and hands trying to get to the infant Raquel out of her car seat as the sedan burned. All she had to show for it was a funny scar on her foot that had faded.

She knew her aunt felt guilty for not saving her own brother but Raquel had seen the death certificates in the attic; the two of them had died on impact. The car seat and a bundle of clothes she had been playing with protected her. Her Aunt Lenora and 6 year old sister Della only lived because they were about to get into the car when the van plowed into them.

She knew her Auntie Nora was doing the best she could it was just...she saw no future for herself. She wanted to be a writer when she was little. Unfortunately, she could never seem to figure out what to write about. As she grew she realized just how bad her neighborhood really was. It wasn't safe to be out after dark. At age 9, she watched a guy get shot for his Fubu jacket right outside their building. Then the mugger beat him to death for getting blood on it. The police came but what could they do? Guy was already dead and everyone else knew what happened to snitches.

By highschool, some of the girls she knew were expecting children; for at least one, her second. Her first boyfriend tried to get her in the same boat. But what made her lose hope completely? Della died of a drug overdose. Della, the one who had been a star student and was well on her way to being the first in their family to earn a scholarship, fell apart. It was a slow process but she started acting weird and disappearing for days at a time. She accused Auntie Nora of messing with her dreams so she would forget their parents. Of trying to steal their beauty to cover her burns. She said the voodoo already worked on Raquel who was 11 at the time. The day she ran away, she broke every mirror in the house so Aunt Lenora couldn't find her. She ended up becoming a crack addicted prostitute, which did not help with her delusions.

Raquel decided right then that there was no hope for getting out of Paris Island Dakota's ghetto. Crime had taken away her folks and burdened her Aunt with responsibilities and guilt that should not have been hers. The streets and schizophrenia murdered her sister. It crushed her dreams into nothing. She did the only thing she could think of not to feel totally helpless. She joined a gang.

A few years later, the Big Bang happened and crime got much worse. The police also got help against the super powered villains in the form of Static Shock. Later Gear, Shebang and RubberbandMan (part time) joined the fight. Seeing the strange relationship between Hotstreak, a known hood who became a pyrokinetic (and slightly psychotic) Bang Baby and Gear made her think a little. Hotstreak tried his damndest to kill Static but he seemed less aggressive with his partner. When they fought, the pyro's attacks were often a little off target and only grazed the techie. He once threw the smaller blonde across the street when a building was collapsing onto them both. Generating enough heat to melt the brick and metal protected him. Not many noticed he'd saved a hero but she did. And so did Gear.

Alva Industries created an antidote to the mutigen that cured the metas of Dakota. Even the heroes began losing their powers. Ebon and Hotstreak decided to set off a second bang and ended up fusing into a monster with both their powers. There was enough gas left to restore Static and Gear's powers and they defeated the creature aboard an old ship. Days after the last fight, the red and blonde haired youth was found half dead in the harbor.

He still had his fire abilities but this time doctors not on Alva's payroll discovered something about the effects of the gas by studying him and the few remaining meta criminals. It had an 87% chance of causing some form mental illness, especially if there was any predisposition to such conditions. Something Alva Industries already knew. Most were just troubled young people who got worse after exposure. Unfortunately reexposure made the cure useless. Their very powers were driving them insane; Static and Gear had chosen to get help (from the JLA) when they noticed it the first go around and RubberbandMan just turned out to be lucky; Shebang's abilities were from a genetic experiment so she wasn't affected. There was a chance, if one was willing, to get better. The city's heroes were proof of that. Especially after Hotstreak agreed to go through treatment in order to get his life together at Gear's insistence.

Even with her doubts about the path she was on, she did not leave the Griffins. That turned out to be a good thing. If she and her crew hadn't broken into that house (and gotten tossed about like toys) she never would have learned lawyer Augustus Freeman IV was an alien. Or had that argument with said alien leading to him become Icon. And her becoming Rocket.

Yes. Icon would not exist if she didn't point out that Dakota and the world could be a safer place if he used the gifts he had naturally. He could do what so many wished they had the chance to. Make a difference.

Of course there were conditions. She had to give up her gang membership and ditch her thuggish friends. She had to get serious about school again. Late patrol and crime fighting could not be valid excuses for not doing assignments unless she was injured. Most importantly, she had to commit to working on her writing. Even if it was only a journal entry a day.

She was happy to find someone who cared as much about her future and her as her Aunt Nora. Someone else who didn't make fun of her dreams and encouraged her to move forward. Even if he was a stick in the mud.

Then she almost died and _it_ happened.

If she felt like she was an outsider among those who were supposed to be her people before the feeling multiplied after _it_ happened but only Icon, the Dakota heroes and the League's medical staff knew exactly what _it_ was. Her former friends also called her sell out and the taunting got worse when Kaldur started to visit. Just a few weeks prior to the attack at the cave, someone broke into their house. She was not about hurt his feelings by telling him that though. She had changed her outlook some but she was still a girl from the hood. Why couldn't they see that?

Her avatar RoqitRiter helped her deal with that. She could meet people who identified with being alone and unable to relate to others that society lumped them together with. After all, KSK was where it was okay to let your freak flag fly.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Icon was just about to rush back to the upper levels when he received the com that things were under control. He had elected to go down into the basement and check on the hub that controlled the Cave. It was clear that there was surface damage to the base but if the hub (which also contained the cave's power source) was comprised, things could go very bad, very fast. He had the best chance of containing the energy long enough for evacuation should the hub go critical. And living through the blast.

The time alone allowed him to think.

A year ago, he had been just trying to live out his life. Well, the current one. Having crashed here on earth in the 1800's he was currently impersonating the 4th generation of his own line. He had only a vague idea where he was really from or what he really was until he joined the league. Something he owed to Raquel. No matter how unfortunate the circumstances.

When a slave woman opened his escape pod all those years ago, she triggered the DNA scanner that disguised him as a human baby. Thinking he was an answer to her prayers, she named him Augustus and raised him on the plantation where she was owned. He realized soon after maturity that he was not like his fellow slaves. He could work longer and harder than those of equal size. His ability to heal kept him from getting sick. The list was quite long. He began to fear what others may do if they realized he was not quite human. Not to himself, but to his mother Miriam who several overseers had already rumored to be a witch.

Learning of the move many were making westward, he gathered his courage and ran taking his mother with him. She made it as far as the Platte River Valley in Nebraska along the Oregon trail before succuming to typhoid fever. When he was ready to give up, his mother used the last of her strength to slap him as hard as she could.

"_You's gonna die a free man Augustus. But not here! When I pass on, you's gonna bury me. You's gonna cry a spell. Then yous gonna car'y your gre' big black buttocks 'cross them mountains you he'r me? God ain't car'y us dis far for you's ta give up jus cus I'ma gone home."_

And he did just that. He'd lived all over the country, watched America expand and grow over the last two centuries. As things began to change for black people, he found himself drawn to helping those in need. He became a lawyer to fight for the little guy in an arena they often lost in alone. He became determined to show that just because he looked a certain way did not mean he ignorant. Over the years he took to assuming the identity of his own son. How else did you hide the fact that you did not age?

Then, he began to lose sight of why he became who he was. He never forgot his mother, he never could. Just that he started to lose hope for those he had wanted to help. Augustus became disgusted with how so many opportunities were afforded to the youth of the day but they passed them up to drink, gamble, be a menace to society, then have the nerve to complain about how "the system was holding them down". Meeting Raquel was like a sucker punch to the face.

Here was a child that had big dreams shattered by urban plight. The violence and drugs had taken every one but her Aunt from her. She lived in a place where she had to carry a switchblade in the fifth grade in order to get to her school bus stop safely. She learned martial arts and gymnastics not as recreation but to give her the edge in a brawl. Raquel was intelligent beyond her years, a talented writer and naturally scientific mind, but it was hardly ever encouraged unless at home.

Wanting so much to belong, she purposely pretended to shave nearly 40 points off of her IQ. She coasted through school because the teachers didn't want to keep dealing with the same 'problem' children year after year. One really couldn't blame them though. Teachers had so little resources they were forced to pick and chose between those who showed they might have a shot and those going nowhere in life. And they were obviously not qualified to make that distinction. The poor girl had been conditioned to believe things would not get better no matter what she did. So why bother?

Yes, the system had been keeping her down. Or at least it was letting her potential slip away.

So, when she and four other teens broke into his house and he was forced to fight them, both he and her got a wake up call. Raquel cleverly deduced that he was not an ordinary man from his use of his strength and reflexes while her cohorts just ran away terrified. That the stuffy lawyer could fight for what was right beyond the courtroom. And showed up the next day to apologize. Then yell at him for sitting on his ass all this time and letting three kids (and occasionally one grown man) fight the city's outrageous crime rate alone. She demanded, yes demanded, that he do something and let her help him do it. Even after the Second Big Bang, there were still people with metahuman powers. Natural mutations and other accidents still occurred. There were also still those who would rather use their minds for evil and invented things that aided them. The argument lasted a week. In a month, Icon and Rocket made their debut much to the relief of the citizens and acceptance of Static and his crew.

A month prior to joining the JLA and YJ, the two once again argued. This time about the membership. Static and Gear had flat out refused to leave Dakota City when they were offered slots. Virgil would not leave his father, sister and stepmother unprotected and Richard would not leave his lover Francis for fear he may go back to a life of crime if his issues got too much to handle alone while he was away. It was why both went to the local university instead of a) MIT that would have thrown money by the truckload at Richard (Gear) or b) Harvard Medical that would have flipped over Virgil (Static).

Icon did not feel comfortable leaving, it felt like he would be abandoning them even though he still would live there. Rocket protested that because he wasn't literally moving they weren't leaving. Then the two were attacked by a villain that could cancel out machinery. While trying to shield her, Icon was shot and the bullet passed clean through him. Straight through the now useless Inertia belt around Rocket's waist as well. Static did not have the knowledge to repair the damage done to her body on site but he did keep her alive long enough for the Watchtower to be contacted after their foe was defeated.

Mr. Terrific got there, medikit in hand, just in time to see the belt reactivate and charge up. Rocket was bathed in her trademark lavender hue and her breathing steadied. On the station, it was determined that Icon's DNA had been carried on the round and reacted with the same technology that disguised him as a baby. It fused with Rocket's healing her and making her 20% Terminian, his race. She would retain a limited form of his healing ability. This did nothing to reassure her when she tried to remove her costume and blacked out from the intense pain of attempting to remove the belt. It was the same thing as if she had tried to hack off her own arm. Alien DNA and tech had permanently bonded to her. Icon acquiesced to her request that he join the League but only so that she could receive care if her body began to reject it's new enhancements.

She had joked about being able to wear cool bling now that she could will the belt into whatever she wanted but he knew she felt like even more of an outsider because of it. Watching her pretend she was someone else just to talk to people she once considered friends in Dakota was a good indicator. RoquitRiter was just a front so she didn't completely lose contact with the Griffins. From his observations, they had no idea who she really was but maintaining those friendships was worrying to him. Watching her battle like a gladiator, party and cause mischief with them one day then be part of a short story critique the next after saving the city showed she couldn't break free of internal conflict in her second life online. The one that was supposed to be an escape.

He sighed and rubbed the one scar that had never faded along his jawline. The place both his mother and Lenora Ervin hit him decades apart. One with a delicate hand tring to give him perspective. The other with a very heavy mahogany chair trying to cause brain damage.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

So, how'd I do? I will not apologize for messing with stuff but I want to know if this chapter was at all believable even to fans of the Milestone Media comics (if any happen to be reading). Up next, we see how poorly Nabu has dealt with Zatanna's feelings and just what happened to show him the taint of chaos magic in her. We also see how helpless Giovanni is to comfort his daughter. Spoiler: She's actually the first to go off on her 'mentor' in a Smackdown-esque manner. The twins are a observed closely by the good Doctor too. Next song, Made of Scars by Stone Sour.

New Ranking

Miss M/ Manhunter: Closest to openly communicating. Most likely to mend first.

Rocket/Icon: Both understand but don't know the other does. Need a tiny push.

Artemis/Green Arrow: She wants a dad, he wants a daughter. Both are stubborn. Tch, Arrows.

Robin/Batman: Two emotionally stunted people who need help communicating. Badly. Possibly counseling.

Aqualad/Aquaman: Trust issues abound. That "fall back I'll catch you" exercise isn't gonna fix this.

Superboy/Superman: Still a FEMA level disaster requiring divine intervention; which has been received and is about to get a boost.

Peace yo. Sirensoundwave out.


	14. Made of Scars

Hey! This is Z's chappie. It will touch on not so asterous ways of dealing with problems including cutting on Zatanna's part and the warped "handling" the issue on Nabu's. And poor Zatara can't do anything about it.

FYI, there will be an explanation of some of the magical aspects of this chapter after the final line break.

Stone Sour's Made of Scars lead us in. I appreciate the suggestions but this song fits both with her cutting and the cause of it.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 14

Made of Scars

Having finally recovered her bearings, Zatanna sat on a chair in the kitchen as the adults regarded them all with varying degrees of guilt, unease, confusion and whatever the hell Nabu was feeling. She knew the Sorcerer Supreme didn't give a rat's ass about her...or anybody really. No, he was all about the many over the few (something he blatantly ripped off from Star Trek) and was not above letting a child suffer (or die) if he could justify it in his mind.

And she hated him for it.

At first, she tried to adjust to not having her father around anymore. But back then, she was under the impression that she would at least get to talk to him once in awhile. That either he or Nabu could still teach her sorcery. When she asked at the start of the new year, Dr. Fate said the following to her.

"_To allow Giovanni to converse with you would be to release my control. Should I do this, he will remove the helmet, despite his pledges to the contrary child. You are young and do not understand yet but this chapter of your life is closed now. You are well cared for by the Justice League and could want for nothing. You are of the age to continue your magical studies alone as well, I suggest you do so. True disciples of the magical arts study on their own in lands that call to their mystic nature." Without another word, he turn to leave._

"_Just you wait Nabu. I'll set my father free someday, I swear it!" She screamed after him. He paused a moment before continuing into the Zeta Beam transporter. He probably didn't take her seriously. But she was. Deathly so._

Robin tried to comfort her as best he could. They spent a lot of time together, especially after she returned from a solo expedition towards the end of February. She has managed to get permission to travel alone for a few weeks across Europe and see what she could glean on the subject of Old World magics. And it was then that she found a release for her anger and frustration. With the blade of a dagger said to be blessed by Hecate. It granted power to those in need and tormented by the supernatural. All it required was a regular offering of the user's blood. It was buried beneath a temple she passed with the hilt jutting out of a crack in the floor.

It was calming to see the sanguine flow run down her thigh. Hear the delicate sound of flesh being sliced open. The pain gave her reassurance that she was still alive. Gave her strength to continue on her journey. Each cut caused the blade to glow bright red. The best part was she could do this all night and banish the damage by morning. Not that any stranger she passed would have seen through her jeans or been concerned if they could.

The grown ups got worried when she missed a few check ins and tracked her down off the coast of Italy. She said she just forgot but she really wasn't in the mood to deal with them. Black Canary was nice though. She said that she understood why she wanted to avoid them but pointed out that her behavior wasn't very trust inducing and had been sent to bring her home. The ride back to the states wasn't boring. The blonde woman showed a great interest in her travels. And she learned that no one was happy about Nabu's treatment of her.

_*Flashback*_

"_We all understand. Some more than others. Many of us lost one of both parents by the time we were teens. At least two leaguers that I know of never knew their real family. I was against this trip honestly. Your problem cannot be solved by running away Zatanna. The truth is it's something you will just have to accept. No matter how unfair it is. I promise you things will get better. I just wish I could tell you when." The two sat on a private plane owned by Queen Industries. The moon was a far away disc reflecting off of the Atlantic as they near America._

"_It's okay Canary. I think I'm ready to face reality. It's just hard. I see him so often. The eyes of my father are very clear but everytime I'm reminded that it's not his soul behind them. Then there's knowing he's trapped." She started to cry. The older woman held her close. If either noticed the Dagger of Hecate in it's jeweled sheath peaking out her jacket begin to pulse a pale purple color, neither said anything._

_*End*_

When she got back to the mountain, the cutting escalated. And the blade would glow a darker and dark hue of red. Knowing she could stop the bleeding at any time, she began slicing deeper and in more perilous places. Her wrists and ankles were often criss crossed with lines that bled like Niagra Falls. She was also angry all the time. She argued with everyone over the stupidest things. Z began growing more powerful but less controllable. She became reckless on missions and nearly got herself killed a few times too. Everything reached a boiling point a week before April.

Robin had noticed the strange scars. The ones she felt did not deserve to heal. They were mostly hidden but her costume exposed more of her hip than she thought. When he asked her about them, she flipped out on him. She realized now that her behavior was uncalled for. At the time all she could think about was how he was invading her privacy and how betrayed she felt when he said that he was going to tell Canary.

It made her angrier that she was taken off of active duty for almost two months but it made her feel special that BC moved into the cave just for her. The two spent a lot of time together as more sisters than anything else. The more they talked and worked through her feelings, the less pull the dagger had on her. The creation of her KSK account was the older woman's idea too. Canary told her to think of things that made her feel powerful while designing her second self. Rob still wanted to pay for it even after she had been so horrible to him. He just mumbled something about everyone needing a break from stupid shit before giving her the access code to her blank template avatar.

KhaotikTripleGoddess was, as her name suggests, a character that consisted of three identical females. Each one looked like a rebellious goth girl (combat boots, mesh stockings, spiked armbands and chains galore). One dressed in black wore a laurel of Belladonna on her head. One dressed in purple wore one of yew branches. The third in midnight blue had a crown of cypress. They could act independently but were never far from each other. Each had a dagger like the one she found in Greece but they were used for casting spells more so than cutting things. She was a type of goddess listed as Grecian Pantheon Kin; one modelled after a god or goddess from the same order as Zeus and Hera.

Online, she met another avatar that seemed to know a lot about her, DioscuriC. It was really creepy, especially when he told her he knew about her problem with her father and the anger she held inside.

_*Flashback*_

_#Leave me alone. I'll report you if you to admin don't.# The three girls frowned._

_#Z, you need to calm down. I'm not a stranger. We've met before.#_

_#And that makes you oh so trustworthy.#_

_#Touche. Perhaps we should meet face to...faces.#_

_She did not have time to ponder what that meant. A second later, her laptop sat on her bed by itself. The only evidence she had been there were disheveled sheets and that fact that the computer was on._

_DC had pulled her into the game, literally. She stood by the banks of the river in her forest looking through three sets of eyes. Before her, a young man dressed like an ordinary teen in a fight jacket with black hair. A gemini tattoo was on his right hand. He resembled someone she had seen before but..._

"_What the HELL?" Her voice echoed in triplicate. "You're a magic user!"_

"_Correct. I only want to help you Z. I know you've felt your powers growing and if you don't get a handle on them, you're going to get yourself or someone you love killed." He smiled gently. "If it makes you feel better, my actual name is Castor."_

"_You say I know you. I've never known anyone by that name so how do you know my identity? For all I know you're some pervert." All three crossed their arms._

"_You do, you just don't know the person you met isn't the real me. I know this is strange but I don't have much time. Listen to me, your life is in danger and not just from the enemies you are aware of. The Dagger of Hecate was not something you came upon by happenstance. It was placed in your path by someone seeking your destruction. The version of it's legend you read had been greatly distorted. It was created as a ceremonial tool for animal sacrifice and never meant to shed human blood. It's been reacting to you and providing protection of a sort making you one with the goddess, part of the surge in power you've felt. _

_The bond has become unbreakable and now you are at the greatest risk. If you ever lose complete faith in yourself, the dagger could possess you and force you to commit suicide, fully comending your spirit to the crossroads. That was the goal of the one who led you to it. It wasn't destiny...more like fate." He sighed. "Z, you are stronger than you know. Never forget that. I have to go but if you would like to meet again, used the dagger to call me. I'll answer."_

_With that, he stepped into the door that appeared beside him. The visual of a player logging off. _

_The young spell caster found herself alone together on the river bank. Sitting on three rocks, she began to think. How much could she trust this guy? She got the sense that he really was trying to look out for her but-_

_Wait._

_*It wasn't destiny...more like fate.*_

_Zatanna suddenly felt very cold inside. The one person who pushed her to explore on her own. Berated her for wanting what any daughter would and called her selfish in a roundabout way. Made her feel useless. _

_Nabu had tried to kill her. In a way in which he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty._

_Oh no. If he wanted her gone, he'd have to do it himself. And boy, he was gonna catch hell trying._

_Dr. Fate had been watching from inside the game as well, high in a tree. That blue skinned little freak just had to ruin his plans! He should have been paying attention to the fact that KhaotikTripleGoddess had left the river. That and it wouldn't have hurt to at least try to change his appearance. Full on Lord of Order garb kinda stood out even in a KSK forest. Like, a lot._

_It would have saved him the intense pain in his back that caused him to fall from his perch._

"_You are so going down!" Three voices called, clearly enraged._

_For the next few moments,blurs of black, purple and indigo took turns beating the crap out of him in mid air. Finally sent hurtling downward, he created a crater in the forest floor._

"_I'm going to expose you Dr. Fake! I will get my dad back!"_

_The helmet of fate formed a shield when the triplets charged at him like eagles going for the kill. To his suprise, they each took on the glow of what color they were wearing and joined hands. The deadly light show collide with his shield and everything went white._

"_Oof!" Zatanna found herself being launched onto the floor of her bedroom in the real world. She sat up and hugged her knees, crying alone in the dim light. She had been so close..._

_Far away, in the Tower of Fate, Nabu floated motionless. His costume looked like he had been at ground zero of a bomb. A large crack now extended from a corner of the left eye socket on the helmet. He could hear Giovanni raging at him and trying to gain control. It didn't matter though. The body was too damaged to do anything but let the the healing powers of the sanctuary do their job. The last thing he had felt before returning was several hands grabbing the helmet and pulling like no tomorrow._

_*End*_

That had been a month ago.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

At times like this, Nabu understood the human urge to roll one's eye. He was standing in a room saturated with chaos magic. It was radiating from 4 people, indicating none of them were who they claimed to be. A fifth signature was faint but none the less there. He silently cast a spell to show him their true forms.

Over the small black haired girl, a translucent image of an older but still pixy like woman appeared. She wore her hair in many braids each tipped with a butterfly shaped bead of gold. Over the silver haired boy, a tall broad shouldered man with a raven pendant around his neck. Though the children were talking to others in the room, the images turned to him. The woman smiled serenely and waved her hand in greeting. The man scowled and gave him what he once heard referred to as a 'New York peace sign'.

The third strong signature was coming from Wallace; the sigil for the Gemini of the zodiac visible on the left hand of a much older version of himself wearing black robe. Dr. Fate already knew the Flash's nephew wasn't human or even truly related to the speedster. He has met the boy's true mother prior to the beginning of the year in a park to demand she tell him what she was up to. The woman with stars in her hair claimed she was the Guardian of this Reality named Lady Gaia. Her children played the part of balancers-Wallace on the side of Good and Klarion on the side of evil. The flaw in her explanation was that both were Chaos Mages. Chaos magic by its nature could never be good, only evil. It disrupted order causing imbalance; the very opposite of what she claimed they were doing. He orchestrated much of his report to draw attention to the fact that these Mages were influencing the League and their proteges. Well, more to get them to pay closer attention to their erratic behavior so it could be blamed on the Mages.

The fourth was a shock to him. Standing back to back with Black Canary was blonde woman in the same robe. Canary bent down to offer a hand up to Green Lantern. The ghostly image, still standing, gave a sweeping bow to Fate that opened her robe revealing the two piece version of Dinah's outfit underneath. The sigil for Virgo across her bare belly.

Robin was the source of the faintest energy. At first he thought what he sensed from the child was a latent and unused magical ability and nothing more. Now he knew he was wrong. How many of these abominations were there? One alone had given Zatanna the means to nearly kill him!

/You realize you can only see us because we're letting you right?/ The golden eyed girl asked. /And Cas didn't do anything but unravel part of your web of deceit./

/In other words, you had your chance to get them ready and you really blew it./ The silver haired man smirked. /Attempting to murder a child, for shame./

/Not so all seeing of you never noticed that I wasn't a mortal. We see each other at least 5 times a week, Dr. Fake./ The blonde laughed. /It was my time with her that helped save her from your manipulations./

/The ball's in your court Nabu. Own up to your lies or we will expose them. Today. We are not ashamed of our deceptions, they weren't self serving. Want to test us?/ The redhead crossed his arms.

/We **dare** you./ Four voices chorused.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Hecate is a greek goddess associated with many things. The crossroads (where the past present and future intersect; as well as the earth, sky and sea which she also has dominion over), the moon, death/the underworld and apothecary of medicines and poison to name a few. Many of her ancient rites required a tribute of blood. In some versions of her myth it said that she became a goddess after she was forced to kill herself by the moon goddess Artemis for insulting her. Modern followers have resurrected her as the goddess of witches and the embodiment of the maiden, the mother and the crone (the triple goddess or triple moon). Yew, cypress and belladonna are all sacred plants to her.

The full moon is said to be a time for banishing evil and negativity. That's the phase the moon was in when Canary brought her home.

Black is the color used to repel evil energy, symbolise chaos and infinity.

Purple is the color of justice, psychic awareness and wisdom.

Blue/Indigo (depending on what source you check) represents serenity, divine protection and mending of damaged pride.

Dioscuri (son or sons of Zeus; a name often used to address both Gemini twins) plus C, the first letter of Castor's name equals DioscuriC.

Gabriel gave Fate the bird ; P

Lastly, we know who all the Zodiac Knights are.

Mother-Lady Gaia

Castor-Klarion (tat on right hand)

Pollux- Wally (tat on left hand)

Sagittarius-Roy

Pisces-Poison Ivy

Virgo-Black Canary

Epsilon-Cheshire

Like it? Hate it? Am I confusing people? Let me know! Reviews are always greatly appreciated. Wally's up next. Sirensoundwave out.


	15. Ladies and Gentlemen

Hiya! Here we are, Wally's chapter. We learn how and why he became Barry's nephew and Dr. Fate's lies begin to unravel. Saliva's Ladies and Gentlemen starts us off.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 15

Ladies and Gentlemen

So this was it.

Wally or rather Pollux was standing near the Zeta beam controls. In a few moments everything would have to be revealed.

His heart ached.

He was about to reveal that Wallace Rudolph West never existed. That his twin brother was part of the Light and Roy was actually several million years younger than him but still older than all life on Earth. As much as it hurt to know that his friends were about to hate him, there were three reactions he was dreading the most. Robin, Flash and Green Arrow.

Robin's real mother was currently sitting in a cell at Belle Reve waiting for the signal to come meet her son face to face. Their story was complicated involving reincarnation and resurrection. Logically there should be no blood relation but there was; which was good because he knew Bruce would want proof. She lost him centuries ago to the wrath of a man she was forced to marry and committed suicide to join him soon after. She cared for him so much that she surrendered herself to be reborn as a Zodiac Knight so that he could have a second chance. Refusing to let him be a victim again, she bestowed upon him the power to affect chance and chance affect him. But how would the little bird react to learning a woman he and the Bat fought so many times was only doing so to protect him? That his best friend was a liar?

His uncle had invested so much of his time to insure that Wally became a force for good and not go rogue under stress. Barry's worst fear was the boy would blank out and kill his father one day. He didn't know that the Speed Force had no hold on him. That it was an act. It was so hard to lie to his face like he'd been doing all these years...

Then there was Green Arrow. He would soon have his heart ripped out in front of an audience. He was about to learn the woman he loved with all his heart was not what she seemed. Black Canary was his servant, Virgo, and had been placed in the league in order to spy on them. But love is something unpredictable and she fell for him too; despite the fact that she was far older than him. The remnants of a young Nordic girl murdered out of jealousy and spite. He was more concerned with how Ollie would treat her than himself. He did not want to take this from her; she had finally found someone she cared for. It just wasn't fair.

Still, it had been agreed when this plan was put in place that the pain to come would be necessary if they wished to save not only Earth but their entire reality. It hadn't been their intention to harm anyone. They all took their positions in the hopes that this world's heroes could do this on their own; all they had to do was watch and guide when needed. Direct intervention was not their place.

Then Nabu happened; Kent Nelson became the Sorcerer Supreme fifty years ago. When the Lord of Order reawoke, he initially ignored them. For two decades the pair did nothing to aid or hinder them. One day, not long after Mrs. Nelson passed on, Nabu changed his mind and was about to confront what he deemed a witch that delighted in mayhem. Why?

A small ship from Krypton was on it's way to earth.

A young Amazon became curious about what lay beyond the shores of Themyscira.

White Martians began their plot to take Earth as their own and be free of the Green Martian's rule.

Ras Al Ghul and Vandal Savage met for the first time in their immortal lives.

A chain of events were sparked in Gotham that would rob a young man of his parents.

The Lantern Corp. discovered that fear was a match for will.

The spirits of two lovers are reborn on an alien world.

A newborn baby was taken from his mother, Queen Atlanna and left to die, his people believing his blonde hair to be a curse.

A young couple moves to Central City in hopes of starting their family there in a few years.

All events not directly caused but used to the advantage of her. His mother. They were going to happen regardless, she merely condensed the time frame to occur around the same point in history.

Lady Gaia laid the foundation for the Justice League of America to come to be. He and his brothers made sure those individuals met. Something she had the idea for when she realized this generation would yield far more metahuman, homo magi and alien powers working together than ever before. For good and evil. Her people would be able to defend their own realm even from threats beyond their reality.

However, what happened was the massive surge of fighters on both sides of the balance caused the cosmic scale to sway dangerously. Every time it tipped too far to the light or dark, the universe experienced a near collapse and strange things happened such as time travel, barriers to alternate universes thinned; people and whole planets experienced a complete remake. Sagittarius called them Cosmic Hiccups.

Despite the goofy name, they were serious and had to stop. These hiccups were draining their mother's strength and so was something else. Something far more ominous; their 'uncle' Vishnu. He and their harpy 'cousins' wanted to rule this reality after destroying their own. The trio had thrown their home reality so far out of whack it shattered beyond repair.

A new plan was needed. Quickly.

So, taking the place of a child that would have been stillborn, he became the son of Mary West 16 years ago. Castor took the role of the bratty but powerful witch boy around the same time. Sagittarius took over the life of a boy killed in an auto wreck along with his parents three years later. Ten years after that Virgo, already masquerading as Black Canary, joined the League. Pisces used her villainous disguise to watch her child grow up; and spy on the lower levels of the Light. Epsilon would be born only 3 short years ago, when Cheshire was sent on a mission her father hoped she would not live through.

Vishnu's idea was to create a team that would be a match for those Mother had intended to become the League, hoping that the resulting clash would hasten the process he was already using to drain their mother's power. He and his daughters had no actual hold on anyone from Gaia's realm so they could not directly interfere with the lives of those there. Against their will. They were using a partnership with the Light to create metahumans that they could control; cloned or otherwise. Superboy was supposed to be the leader of their army. All mindless zombies thanks to StarroTech. If Vishnu could imprison Gaia, the energy he'd been stealing from her could be used to have their reality accept him and those evil bitches Shiva and Kali as its Guardian and Chaos mages. Making the Zodiac Knights expendable.

Unfortunately, dear old uncle Vishy was bad at math. Their reality was strange because of the sheer number powerful beings that were apart of it. Instead of the standard two, there were three; Cas, himself and Sagittarius. You can't replace the legs of a tripod with two stilts, it's gonna fall over. Tari was born when Mother realized that the stress was too much for them to regulate alone. Without all three, the universe would unravel like a cheap sweater in the wash.

Having seen all this in a dream, Kent never put the helmet on again. The man had no interest in dying just yet and he understood if the Guardian snapped her fingers, he could cease to be. Kent was also aware that what they were doing was necessary to protect all of existence. The Lord of Order, on the other hand, couldn't conceive of such a thing. To him all magic not aligned with his own had to be wrong, unnatural.

The prick called them abominations!

And mother called him a parasite. Needing a host to anchor himself to this plane. Depriving said host of a life. Still, he might be needed for the coming battle.

So, Pollux and Castor set up his return to the mortal world. First as Pollux donning the helmet to fight Castor. Then leaving it for Zatanna to use when Cas split the world of adults and children. Resulting in Zatara becoming his permanent host to save his daughter. They had hoped that his desire to remain on this plane would make him more cooperative.

Instead, Nabu tried to set them up to be blamed for the rift developing between mentor and partner. He purposely mislead the older heroes, causing them to fear the Young Justice team going rogue when all they really needed to do was sit down and talk. That way, more would be inclined to believe him when he announced the Mages were evil beings trying to warp the younger heroes' minds. Z's suicide was suppose to be the clincher. The dagger she kept closer to her was forged from 'dark magic' after all.

How's that for gratitude? Bastard was holding a grudge when so much was on the line.

So, to counter his plan, they swapped the gang's powers and emotions. The teens had such great practice hiding their feelings when they were their own but very little luck doing so with someone elses. With the Zeta transport down, the were essentially stuck together. They'd have to talk then, right? The arrows Virgo kissed for Sagittarius prevented his and Virgo's true powers from being passed to another. The one he'd shot at Superman was slowly eating away at the barrier Dr. Fate had merely reinforced preventing him from seeing Connor as anything more than a threat.

Right now, the four of them stood glaring at Lord of Order.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Barry Allen was beyond confused. His nephew had almost an hour ago managed to stun Superman with his fists. Artemis used Atlantean abilities to wail on Aquaman. Everyone's powers had been scrambled. After Roy apparently came in and killed them all. There were two weird little kids there who had the power to heal even death. It was too convenient.

Barry long suspected this nephew was a bit...odd. Being able to duplicate the experiment that gave him his superspeed at such a young age was a clue. Wally tried so hard to pretend his life at home with his parents was fine but his eyes told anyone paying attention that he wasn't the happy go lucky teen everyone thought he was. Those eyes always seemed so sad, so much older than they should be. Like a burden greater than anyone knew rested on his shoulders.

He and Iris had recently discussed trying to get custody of Wally. It would be hard unless they could prove abuse or neglect. Wally's speed healing made that nearly impossible. They knew the boy was afraid to leave because he didn't want Rudy to start beating his mother instead. When they tried to explain to him that it wasn't his job to protect Mary but the other way around, he had screamed at them and run somewhere. They didn't see him for 3 days. His parents barely noticed their son was missing. Now he knew that the boy's desire to escape any way he could had allowed the Speed Force to control him instead of him tapping its power. But to what end?

He had suggested that he get a KSK account but after only a week on it, he complained that things in the virtual world moved too slow. He'd simply stick with the fast paced games on his Xbox and PS3. Of course the pace wouldn't suit a speedster. He tried to get into the game too but got bored in even less time. Both spent so much of their day trying to slow down for others that it was nice to cut loose and go fast in their spare time. Something they had in common.

Well, he was in for a shock.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"This is inane." Gabriel growled. "Yo, bucket head! Got anything to share with the class?"

Everyone looked at the little boy. Who continued to glare at Dr. Fate.

"Yes. You and your sister are not innocent children. Nor are two others in this room what they appear to be." Nabu spoke evenly. "Possibly a third."

" Yeah. 'Cause that's the biggest secret being kept. How about the fact that you've been jerkin the League around just because you didn't want to help us?" Gabriel said. His voice had far more bass than a child's should.

"Okay...this is getting weirder than it already was." Rocket blinked.

"Dr. Fate what is going on?" Superman asked.

"I knew something wasn't right with that glorified bucket." Batman muttered.

"Everyone's waiting..." Sylphine's voice gave the words a lilt. Then she shrugged. "Fine. Don't talk. That report he gave two months ago was a sham. Yes everyone here has their issues to work through but Mr. 'I'm Never Wrong' decided that since we are such evil things, it would be so easy to blame us for the fall out. All because he could handle anything that threatened the universe all by his lonesome."

"Lies. You are not fit to exist. Your magic is tainted. Only Order Magic can stabilize the universe."

"So I suppose you trying to kill Z was an accident. Or Making Supes completely blind to the fact that Connor is a person with feelings was a mistake? Bullshit. Try the truth." Wally spat, causing greater confusion.

"The truth is that you four have no right to exist! Chaos magic cannot balance anything. All you cause is suffering and destruction. Only Order can preserve the balance of good and evil. I stand by my actions as necessary. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Uh-huh. Here's a quote that's not a total sci-fi rip-off. Nature favors entropy." Gabriel scoffed.

"But once it runs its course, stability reigns in its wake." Sylphine said.

"What lurks in the shadows is not always tainted nor is all that basks in the light pure." Black Canary spoke for the first time. Green Arrow looked at her, unsure of what to think. She averted her eyes from his pleading gaze.

"These are the only truths that cannot be denied. You've had your head so far up your metaphysical ass you forgot to consider there are things more powerful than you out there. And some aren't as nice as us." Wally sighed and turned to face his team and the League. "The truth is I've been lying to you all as well. But in my defense, he started it."

The transporter whirred to life. Wasn't it broken?

_Recognized ZK01 Lady Gaia_

_Recognized ZK02 Gemini Castor_

_Recognized ZK03 Sagittarius_

_Recognized ZK04 Pisces_

_Recognized ZK06 Epsilon_

Four figures dressed in matching black robes spotted with pinpricks of white exited the beam. Leading the way was a tall woman dressed in a sky blue robe. Her skin was pale as snow, glowing softly in cave's light. Frost colored lips starkly contrasted against her skin tone. Short wavy locks that resembled the night sky, deep blue and shimmering like tiny diamonds, framed her face while a long straight train of it with the same properties cascaded down her back. Her peach colored eyes were warm and soft.

The four behind her removed their hoods and the heroes went on alert.

"What the hell?" Flash exclaimed.

"I thought Ivy was locked up." Batman frowned.

"Fuck her! Why is that monster here?" Superboy yellled. "Both of them?"

"Aw, where's the love? I'm guessing Dr. Fake won't back down, huh?" The one everyone knew as Klarion laughed.

"I know you're pissed at me but I did it for a reason you guys." Roy/Sagittarius sighed.

"We didn't come here to fight. We're trying to fix the mess that one created. If he had just been truthful when he was released, this could have been avoided." Ivy pointed at Dr. Fate. When her eyes fell upon Robin, they softened. "And for a meeting long overdue."

"And how's that exactly?" Superman took a cautious step forward. As did the other Leaguers present. The kids hung back, knowing if a fight broke out, they'd be totally useless.

"Why don't we sit down and talk about this civilly." Lady Gaia smiled. "You really don't want to fight us. My youngest child was more than a match for you and John, wasn't he Clark?"

"You didn't even try to help us rescue Lois did you?" Green Lantern turned to Black Canary who was walking closer to the intruders.

"No." She said without looking at them. "My job was to make sure Supes got shot. Hello Lady Gaia."

"Hello Virgo. Are you alright Pollux?" The pale woman's smile faded as she saw her son looking uneasy.

"Not really mother." The boy with freckles and bright red hair sighed heavily, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

3...

2...

1...

"WHAT?"

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Uh-oh. Some people have some 'xplainin' to do. How will the heroes react? What will become of Dr. Fate? Future Spoiler: Sylphine gets her birthday present that Castor hinted at a while back. It makes two people very happy and one Lord of Order pissed beyond belief.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Sirensoundwave out.


	16. You're Gonna Go Far Kid

Also,I have been advised to back up this story because each chapter contains song lyrics. While I am aware that this is frowned upon, the singers whose's songs I use are credited first before the lyrics even seen. My disclaimer clearly states that I own no part of this story other than the plot and original characters. I'm not claiming any credit for said songs and the first two chapters explain that I also do not claim to know exactly what the song writer meant, that these are my interpretations. I am also encouraging readers to please listen to the songs I mention so I fail to see what the problem is. It is up to them to do so for free on legal sites that allow it, purchase the songs or whatever. I am not advertising anything and do not get paid for mentioning groups/bands or their work. If that counts as advertising, then this site should be shut down in it's entirety. By that definition, our stories are all advertisement for the fandoms they are about aren't they? Yes they are.

So long as we don't claim to own what we are working with, it should be okay but, I understand this site's admin is...picky (yeah, let's go with that) with how and when they enforce rules. It's not fair that there are stories that have been up since the 90's that violate every single rule and have yet to be removed but at least 5 of my recent fave authors have disappeared because of minor infractions. So, this entire story will be available on mediaminer and adultfanfiction by midnight tonight just in case. If it is delete here, I will repost it without the lyrics but is my opinion that I shouldn't have to.

I am so pissed that I had to take down the lyrics!

Check out the story on adultfanfiction under my same name, sirensoundwave, for the full effect of each chapter.

My next update might not be for a while, one of my patients is very sick and I can't devote as much time to writing and still care for them properly. Wish me luck.

Okay! This chapter's gonna be a bit wordy. Will have mostly dialogue (and some action but not much). Nabu deeds begin to come to light and everyone learns that nothing has been the way they thought for some time. After the obligatory pointless back and forth of course.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

The Offspring help us out again, this time with You're Gonna Go Far Kid.

Chapter 16

You're Gonna Go Far Kid

"Why are two of our enemies, a strange lady and the guy who KILLED us an hour ago here? This makes no sense." Connor grumbled.

"It's complicated." Wally started. "You were never meant to know really. But somebody just had to take the least helpful route."

"That's means it wasn't some whacked out dream. You did try to kill me with that dagger." Zatanna frowned. " All this time I've been suffering and you were totally pulling the strings. You colossal douche!"

"Zatanna, we do not know if any of this is true just yet. Nabu should explain himself." Artemis folded her arms. "I am not the only one who thinks so am I?"

"Artemis is right. Man it sounds weird to hear you talk like Kaldur." Megan sighed. "This whole situation is less than whelming."

"I think everyone should explain. Starting with you all." Batman stared at Lady Gaia. He still didn't trust Fate, but at least he had some experience dealing with him. This woman and her group were complete unknowns. Especially after how Wally and Dinah greeted them. Or rather Pollux and Virgo.

"Leave it to the Bat to be the one to make demands." Castor rolled his eyes. "Seeing as I don't really care what happens next, can I leave- er..." He looked down and Sylphine was standing very close to him, looking up with an angry expression.

"Shut up. You're already in trouble as it is. Don't make it worse." She huffed. It sounded odd; she was so tiny ordering around someone way bigger than her. To the shock and further confusion of many, the witch boy's mouth snapped shut.

"Whipped." Sagittarius chuckled. Castor glared at him.

"Perhaps as a show of good faith, you should reverse the spell Tari dear." Lady Gaia gestured to the teens. "After all it was only meant to be an exercise is the danger of ignoring one's feelings."

"Yes Ma'am." Sagittarius held out his hand and a single gold arrow appeared in it. Instantly everyone was on guard, taking battle stances. Sagittarius let out a long sigh. "Relax, I'm not gonna shoot anybody. Sheesh."

With that, he simply snapped it. The Young Justice Team glowed white. The aura's collected in a single swirling ball over their heads before it exploded sending streaks of white light directly at each member. Everyone affected was knocked on there asses. Except Wally/Pollux and Dinah/Virgo.

"I am myself again." Kaldur flexed his arm.

"That was so weird." Raquel shivered.

"No offense Robin, but your mind is really scary." Megan said.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for undoing your mojo but what is going on here?" Green Lantern kept his ring powered up.

"Nabu, if you'd like to explain first go right ahead." Lady Gaia motioned to Dr. Fate. The regal aire about her was very reassuring, despite the heroes not having any clue who she was.

"..." Fate remained silent. The entire room was looking (or glaring hatefully) at him. To tell the truth he wasn't sure what to do. These...creatures out numbered him considerably. Angering them in such close quarters would be suicide. Retreat would do little to help him either. It would only confirm their lies about him being the villain here. The only option would be to tell his side, omitting a few details of course. "These beings are called the Zodiac Knights. According to them, their mission is to provide balance in the universe. Lady Gaia's title is Guardian of Reality. The three known previously to us as Wallace West, Roy Harper's clone and Klarion the Witch Boy are her sons. The others are their servants."

"Did it hurt that much to say?" Pisces smiled. "You sound constipated. What about your meeting with Our Lady? Aren't you going to tell them she tried to tell you something horrible was about to happen?"

"Lady Gaia told me nothing of the sort. What I gathered from our brief meeting was that she wished for the identity of her children to remain a secret for this game they play." Dr. Fate snarled. "I honored that request."

"That you did. But, you also took my words and twisted them to your own ends. Which is why I did not trust you with the whole truth. We never meant to cause any of you trouble; for that I apologize. My children and their attendants are called Chaos Mages, and for eons, we have watched over this reality making sure it continues to exist. It is not our place to interfere in the lives of those residing here. Unless something happens to disrupt the balance. The sheer number of powerful beings in this realm caused the balance to sway dangerously. To prevent this, I laid the foundations for the two most powerful groups in this realm to come to be. Yourselves, and the Light."

"So you admit that you have less than peaceable intentions." Nabu spoke. "You just said that it was you who pitted the League against the Light."

"Don't get too full of yourself Fate." Pollux said. "Mother started out with minimal direction of events. You escalated things to the point we had no choice but to get involved and show ourselves. Yeah, it's true I'm not really Wally West. He never existed. The child that would have been him originally died in the womb; smoking and drinking til one passes out on a regular basis has that effect on developing child. I should thank you though Dr. Fake. If not for you, I'd still be bound to never show my powers. I can actually protect the people I care about."

"The Justice League and the Light would have formed on their own eventually. All I did was insure that they happened around the same time. Would you have preferred a different roster, still lead by Al Ghul and Savage but established before Superman or any other founder was even born? That was one of the many possibilities, I assure you. Before you continue in this pointless debate, remember Nabu why Kent never put the helmet back on. He saw what the world could become if I did not act as I did. If you had tried to change things."

"You showed Kent what you wanted him to see-" The Lord of Order maintained his position.

"Digging your heels in until the bitter end I see. Sit down my dears, this will take some time unfortunately." The pale woman waved her hands and several chairs, one for each person in the room, materialized near everyone. Smoothing out her robe, she sat down. The other Knights followed suit. Pollux and Sagittarius turning theirs around so they could lean forward on the backs. Sylphine ignored her chair, instead plopping down in Castor's lap. Gabriel put his feet up in her spot.

Dr. Fate stared disdainfully at the plush seat that popped up next to him. It was probably enchanted to trap him or any other foolish enough-

"This is soo comfy!" Zatanna giggled. The stupid child thrown herself into the chair without a second thought! The Flash poked his to be sure it was real before doing the same.

"Yeah..." He agreed. "What? We've been standing around twiddling our thumbs for over an hour and there's few other places to sit. The cave's only furnished for 8 or 9."

"This could be some sort of trap Flash. We just met these people. Their true selves any way." Icon didn't sit down either.

"Look I know he lied, like a lot, but I've always known Wally was a strange kid. Just turns out it's way more than I thought. If they really wanted to kill us, they wouldn't have wasted all this time yammering away at us." The speedster said. He smiled a little when he saw Pollux look at him in shock. " I'll bet my paycheck for a year that we were never in any danger during the whole Starrotech debacle, were we?"

"Nope. That was actually done for three reasons. One to let you see that the Light existed, to show you how powerful they really are and it was an attempt to make you realize things aren't always as they seem. It was suppose to scare you knit-wits into at least coming clean with each other about the things you've been hiding. Kinda like an 'if today was your last day' deal. But nooo. Dr. Fate had to screw with that too." Castor said. "Didn't you notice anything weird about how you felt boy scout?"

"Er...no. Wait. I was proud of Super boy...I mean Connor's actions that day. Then I just wasn't anymore. I'm not sure why." Superman mulled over his own words as he talked.

"That's because Fate saw through the ruse, as we expected. However, the hope was he would then share with you the dire straits we were all in, especially after knowing that Starrotech worked on him, a magical being, as well. But, he chose to divide the teams even further because he saw our actions as a hindrance not a help." Pisces said as she crossed her legs.

"Hold it. Fate's ego is the reason we've all been tip toeing around each other for half a year?" Robin finally spoke. "Then what about the fact that you were trying to kill us that day? And succeeded today?"

"Rob, didn't you guys wonder why the chips were so easy to counteract? Even though it had been 'perfected' over an extensive period of time? Cas left a back door in the programing on purpose." Pollux grinned. "As for today, you guys did die but only to make the swap less painful. Tari ripped out part of your souls and dumped them into someone else. That would have been way more traumatizing."

"Gabriel and Sylphine were here to make sure we were all revived." Batman said. He studied how the small girl smiled and her brother nodded sharply. "It does seem rather convenient that two powerful kids with magic would show up right when we needed them. So, who are they? More of your children Lady Gaia?"

"Uh, no. We are Chaos Mages from another reality. Mama Aurii decided that we deserve a vacay after all the crap we've both been through. We came here to spend time with people we missed." Gabriel yawned, looking as disinterested as he could. "Time between realities doesn't exactly flow like it does within em. We recently dealt with something that lasted billions of years in one location and none at all in another. Time is an abstract concept kiddies. Einstein was right about relativity."

"So, what is it you're trying to prevent?" Aquaman asked. "And why did some of us have to get knocked around to do it?"

"Well, to understand, think about this. There are many splinter realities attached to a main reality. It's why the CSA exists in that other world you saw. That world is a shadow of what could have been. Changing it had no lasting effect here. But deep inside you all knew that allowing them to cross over into this world would have caused serious problems. That it could cause irreparable damage. If you snuff out the light casting the shadows, everything goes dark but rearranging the shadows does very little to affect the light." Gaia paused, seeing a sea of perplexed faces. "Perhaps I should start by explaining how I came to be, hm?"

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Story time next chapter, yay! Let me know what you think. Sirensoundwave out.


	17. Deify

This chapter basically has Fate hang himself with all his bullshit. We see his true motivation for his actions as well as how and why Guardians and Chaos Mages are actually born. The song I chose is, in my opinion, about the fact that we tend to blindly follow people who claim that they know what's best until they start dropping (not so) subtle hints that they aren't as 'holy' as they pretend to be. That they are not infallible. Disturbed's Deify sets the mood.

In case it's not obvious, I am not a fan of the YJverse Dr. Fate.

Again, for the full effect (ya know, with lyrics) visit adultfiction. My name there is also sirensoundwave.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 17

Deify

"To begin, like my brothers and sisters, I was born from the ether. Created in a realm where nothing existed. I believe the Lantern Corp call it 'The Beginning', the singularity from which all time and space sprang. On Earth alone, it has many names. The Void, Khaos, The Cosmic Egg, The Dream Time, etc. To some, there was never a beginning because nature is in constant renewal; an unbroken cycle. We understand all these beliefs have validity. We always have been since our creation and always will be until our end.

We are each, in essence what scientists call the big bang of our home reality. What caused our birth is a mystery to us as well. We emerged as adults with all the knowledge of our abilities known to us." Lady Gaia said. John's brow furrowed at the mention of the Corp. The next chance he got, he was going to report this to Oa.

"Lady Gaia, um... How many guardians are there?" Zatanna asked. She already decided that she believed this woman. Something about her was comforting...reminded her of her own mother.

"An infinite number my dear. I could never hope to name all of my siblings within any of your life spans. We are like anchors; grounding our universe and to which an untold number of splinter worlds are tethered. For instance you have seen some worlds in which the heroes are corrupt and villains are virtuous. No guardian or mages exist there because they are but shadows of this world. There is no need."

"Where Gabe and I are from, you all only exist as characters in comic books. Imagination in one universe has the potential to be reality in another or in a splinter world." Sylphine leaned back onto Castor.

The image was a little creepy. A cute lil' angelic looking 10 year old sitting comfortably in the lap of the guy who was a total whack job as far as they knew.

"Actually, I was sort of curious about you two." Robin motioned to Castor and Sylphine.

"Oh. I suppose the closest thing to describe our relationship would be soul-mates. For us tend to opposites attract. My affinity is light and his is darkness. Mortals have such flimsy terms for relationships but in teen speak, I'm his baby girl." Sylphine giggled, wrapping Castor's arms around her. It sounded like chimes in the wind. A light blush spread across her beau's nose and cheeks.

"Oh my god the image... IT BURNS!" Raquel exclaimed, clutching her head dramatically. Many others, including the adults looked a bit ill too. " I mean this is...is...Klarion we're talking about! Aren't you two cousins? I need to bleach my brain now!"

"Hey!" Castor's eye twitched as the heroes reacted. His face flushed a deeper shade of red and he turned away.

"Not really." Pollux laughed. His sense of humor was one thing he never faked. "No blood relation. Mother calls the others her brothers and sisters the same way humans call themselves brothers and sisters in a sorority or fraternity. Aunt or Uncle is just what we call other Guardians. Not funny when someone makes fun of your love life, is it bro?"

"Shut up dammit!" Castor still refused to make eye contact with anyone.

"Also, to be clear, affinity is just what side of the balance we tend to lean towards. The concept is hard for mortals to grasp but, light and dark are not the same as good and evil. Those are ideals dreamed up by self aware entities to condone or condemn the actions of themselves and others. I'm neutral if anyone cares. Syl can be sweet but she can be a total bitch too. She's no angel despite how she looks right now. Do not tee her off. Ya won't survive her wrath." Sagittarius pointed out while digging into his ear. "I'm pretty sure you're all squicking out over the fact that she and Gabriel look like small children too. That was just to make them look more defenseless."

The teams were used to the blunt and aloof Roy Harper but this was...a blunt, aloof and philosophical Sagittarius talking. Oliver felt even more betrayed. Two people he deeply cared for weren't what he thought they were. It hurt more than words could describe. Virgo wanted nothing more than to hold him tight, assure him things would be okay.

But she was afraid to. Even in her world, nothing is ever guaranteed.

"Tari does bring up a good point." Gaia chuckled. "Mages are the embodiment of the forces of Light and Dark. As he said, good and evil are merely constructs of the mortal mind. The definition of either depends on one's perception. Light and Dark for us merely mean opposites. The concept of yin and yang as well as Newton's 3 laws are probably the closest the human mind or otherwise has or will ever come to truly understanding it. Things must balance out for the universe to remain stable.

My children were born from my power when this universe became a bit more than just swirling gases. Castor who is dark and Pollux who is light are twins as most mages are. Here though, to properly balance the energies of the universe, a third neutral mage had to be born. Sagittarius is that mage. How their servants came to be, though, are personal stories best left for another time. Our way has always been to not interfere with the lives of those in our universe unless there is a real threat to the balance. It was not supposed to get to this point."

As she stood, her chair faded away. After drawing in a breath, the serene aire left her. Her eyes hardened as her tone became more serious.

"There is another serious problem from beyond this reality which must be dealt with." Lady Gaia sighed. "One of my brothers, Vishnu, is after this world. He and his Mages, Shiva and Kali are callous creatures. Their inept treatment of their own home caused it to go so far off kilter, that it shattered beyond repair. All that remains of is a sea of nothingness. Instead of working hard to start a new, they've set their sights here. I believe they are under the impression that I do not realize their scheme. I have no doubt that they will soon be strong enough to directly affect things here and no longer require their deal with the organization known as the light. Castor has hindered their progress but I fear they have caught on to his efforts.

That, Nabu, is what we discussed. I know it, you know it and I am tired in more ways than you could possibly conceive. As patient as I am, you have managed to irk me something dreadful. It's almost as if you've been trying to win a prize! Congratulations. This is your last chance to admit your folly. Tell them what you know and why you have been behaving as you have." She crossed her arms and leveled a stare at him that would freeze the sun over in less than a nanosecond.

Seconds ticked by but time may as well have stopped. No one moved. No one was quite sure what to do or say.

"I must admit that I have had my doubts about the suggestions you've put forth Dr. Fate." It was Icon who spoke at last. He felt beyond guilty for doubting Raquel's dedication to the mission of a hero. The girl almost died, then was saved by a fluke that fused not only her belt but part of his DNA to her irreversibly. Through it all, she still demanded that he do what destiny was calling him to; and was willing to stand by his side. He didn't concede solely to have access to the best care should she have an adverse reaction to her enhancements. He did it because she believed in him...and he in her. "I am ashamed that I did not voice my opinion sooner. Judging from the faces of the other mentors, I am not alone."

"I'm more angry that it took an outsider to provide validation for my doubts than for not speaking up. I never did trust you Nabu." Batman, ever as verbally subtle as a flying mallet, agreed. Despite their distance, despite the strangeness that happened around him, Bruce knew Robin was not reckless. That his behavior always put the feelings of others before himself. Robin reacted to the emotions of those around him. If Robin truly had some form of magic, that dark day not long ago may have a ridiculously simple explanation. His protege was filled not only with his own anger and grief, but that of others wronged by the mobster. Of all those outraged at his release. This explained his failed relationship with Zatanna and the fight with Wally too. The time he spent around Bruce himself, someone who focused so much on reigning in their emotions, served to stabilize those powers up to a point. "So, what's the real reason you wanted to monitor those with abilities on Earth?"

"You don't trust anyone Batman. Still, I feel as if I have something in common with Superman. On New Years Day ,after the children prevented the take over of the Watchtower, I remember now. I wanted to tell Kaldur about his heritage. He deserved to know and I might not have the chance to tell him if I waited much longer. Every time I tried though, I was assaulted by every fear and doubt I had hidden behind these past 16 years with such force that I abandoned the notion." Aquaman frowned. He and Mera had begun arguing about this very thing around the time Fate presented his so called findings. She wanted to tell him because she feared a lack of self awareness and training would be disastrous should the boy learn on his own; it wasn't fair.

He found that Tula and Garth were suddenly much more concerned with his protege's feelings and were conflicted about pursing their own hearts in deference to him. They'd accidentally learned about his parents when he and Mera had a heated debate in a hallway. Now they were torn between what they knew to be true about their friend, regardless of his pedigree, being true to themselves and loyalty to him. Tula had become so sad and Garth so...out of it as a result.

Mera, as always, turned out to be right.

"You mean there's a spell on me?" Superman was incredulous but it made sense, as much as he wanted to deny it. All the feelings he couldn't justify no matter how hard he tried... All this time he could have been getting to know Connor, getting to know his son. Instead he had pushed the boy far enough away that their were feelings of hate so strong just beneath the surface, the only thing keeping Superboy sane or remotely rational was the mental connection to Manhunter's niece. How could a fellow force for good do such a thing? His mind just couldn't process it.

"I still wanna know why you led me to a cursed artifact that almost killed me!" Zatanna yelled hopping out of her chair. As she did, her normally blue magical aura flared purple for a second before vanishing. All this time, that glorified headdress had been basically driving her closer and closer to the edge. Why? Was it so wrong that she wanted her father, or at least a form of comfort?

"Are you all truly going to accept the word of a group who admitted to deceiving you over the word of a fellow League member? This is absurd." Nabu countered indignantly. "I have done nothing that was not for the good of all!"

"Gee, that sounds a lot like 'yes the pretty lady's right' to me." Flash chuffed. "What's that really mean Mr. Wizard?" Barry trusted Wally, Pollux, more than he trusted Fate. The boy he still saw as his nephew had been bound by magic to never reveal himself. But even with his severely inhibited abilities, he still fought to protect others, no matter the odds.

"I too would like to know the answer to that." Manhunter's face remained impassive but inside he was ready to blow his top. This brought back less than fond memories of constant campaigns to spread fear and hatred of the white martians. Perpetrated by those believing they knew best and were not above sacrificing the innocent to prove it.

"We're waiting, oh high and mighty Nabu." Artemis put her hands on her hips. She looked every bit as fierce as her mother did in her hey-day to Green Arrow. He smirked at her boldness, realizing the reason they butted head so often was because she was just like he was at that age. And so much like he still was now. So alike they couldn't stand it at times.

All eyes were on the Helmet of Fate.

"I am the only one who can maintain order in the energies of the universe! A nexus of power has been dispersed across this sector and allowing it to go unregulated would be foolish. These perversions of nature will lead to our down fall. They have corrupted you to see them as saviors when it couldn't be further from the truth. The issues present in the minds of Young Justice will only lead to greater instability! They should not exist as wild cards the way they do now! Zatanna's powers had already become too willful and tainted by the beginning of the year. It was only a matter of time before she-" The Sorcerer Supreme growled and grit his teeth. His rant was interrupted by the very air becoming heavy around him.

"Before she what tin head?" Robin's voice was so frosty, those that knew him best shivered. Batman knew that tone. This feeling. He first heard it two years ago, when he almost didn't stop him from killing Zucco. Felt when it took all his resources to render the boy unconscious. The Dark Knight knew something very bad was about to happen. This power'd had time to grow. And it was fueled by the dominant emotion in the room, rage. He looked to their visitors who seemed unconcerned.

For the most part.

Pisces was beaming, her eyes sparkling with pride.

This could _not_ end well.

"You've been trying to kill us partners. All of us with this half-assed story about us being dangerous. It's because our strength is a threat to you isn't it? Even Artemis who's just a regular human. Her defiant will can be manifested into a tangible force can't it?" The Boy Wonder walked closer to the Lord of Order with out any hesitation or fear. Tension grew as the mentors didn't know what to do and the protege's were worried something was terribly wrong with their baby bird.

"Since none of you are smart enough to move..." Gabriel's casual drawl and flashing violet eyes was all the warning anyone got before they were forced to the ground and covered by shields of silver light. The Lady merely raised her hand, glowing a soft their position, they could only gasp at what happened next.

Bursts of black energy in the form of curved blades were flying out from Robin's aura. Just like the neon pink of Jinx's hexes. Unlike those though, they seemed to be causing Nabu great pain as they struck his body; each direct hit forcing him further back and finally into the barrier erected by Lady Gaia around herself and the knights. There he was pummelled mercilessly.

Zatanna grew fearful. She hated the helmet but this was her father's body! Robin might kill him.

"Pisces." Gaia called gently after Nabu collapsed against the barrier.

"Yes, My Lady." The green tinted woman vanished and reappeared in front the moving dynamo. He paused, confused. Even more so when she knelt to wrap her arms around him and began to whisper softly. "Mae ysbryd fy aderyn bach yn llachar iawn. Rwyf yma.*"

"Mam?.. Mae'n brifo! Ei gwneud yn mynd i ffwrdd!**" He wailed into her chest, tears flowing from under his mask. The strange words he cried were just as surprising as him clinging to her like a lifeline.

"Bod yn dawel adar llachar. Bydd eich mam yn gofalu amdanoch.***" She responded. She rose to her feet, lifting him as she did; still holding him tenderly and stroking his hair.

With a flash and shower of deep blue sparkles, both she and the youngest crime fighter were gone.

"Where did she take him?" Batman demanded.

"Don't you worry your pointy ears one bit Batsy; like any good mother, she's going to take care of her son." Castor waved him off, placing Sylphine on her feet as he rose to inspect the battered Lord of Order He prodded him with his foot. Nabu groaned and his head lolled to the side before the barrier vanished and he fell backwards, limp. Castor grinned maliciously then clapped his hands together. "Now, I do believe a present for my butterfly is long over due."

Those totally bewildering statements and Sylphine's squeal of joy caused everyone to just stare at the pair, unable to form words.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

This is welsh. Google translate rocks but my speakers are busted so, I haven't the vaguest idea how to pronounce this. And yes, there is a reason for it. It has to do with who Pisces used to be before she died.

*Mae ysbryd fy aderyn bach yn llachar iawn. Rwyf yma. - The spirit of my little bird is very bright. I am here.

**Mam?.. Mae'n brifo! Ei gwneud yn mynd i ffwrdd! -Mother? It hurts! Make it go away!

***Bod yn dawel adar llachar. Bydd eich mam yn gofalu amdanoch. -Be calm bright bird. Your mother will take care of you.

Another cliffie. The mentors have seen through Nabu's tricks and Pisces finally gets to talk to her son as a parent, not an enemy. If Fate disliked this chapter, he's going to like the next chapter even less. What's the perfect present for a sweet little girl? Why, a new dolly of course...

Bwhahaha...

Sirensoundwave out.


	18. Master of Puppets

Welcome all!

This chapter is going to be a little bit of an intermission; at least the first part. We learn that keeping souvenirs is something Light Mages tend to have in common. Wally/Pollux has his trophy case and Sylphine has her... dollhouse. Part of Pisces' past with Robin surfaces and Sagittarius lets Oliver have it.

This chapter title was going to be from the pop hit Barbie Girl by Aqua (that annoying band from Denmark). The song is so ridiculous and the music video is worse but it fit the part of the chapter about Dr. Fate; even though I hate the song with a passion. The last day of school in 5th grade, I punched a boy in the face because he would not stop blasting it in my ear. Then I broke his CD player. It had more to do with the fact that he spent the whole school year hitting me, teasing me, and destroying my things; but he never bothered me again. And my teacher defended me to the principal. Still a win.

Then Master of Puppets played on my Pandora station like two minutes before I was gonna post. So, Metallica rules.

As always, check out my adultfanfiction account for the version with lyrics. As a heads up, I have several one shots and plot bunnies on the way that will be exclusive to adultfanfiction. In the works first, a songfic about the mages going out on the town set to either Burn it to the Ground, Next Contestant (both by Nickelback), Bad Girlfriend (Theory of a Deadman) or Hell Yeah (Rev Theory). I'll let you guys know when it's done.

Still, check Barbie Girl out on Youtube for a laugh. Pay attention to the Ken doll; he only says one line the whole song but how he says it is key. I do applaud them for kicking Mattel's ass in court when the company tried to sue them though. They couldn't claim copyright infringement or defamation when they already marketed the doll as just what the song was making fun of. The publicity launched Aqua internationally and forced Mattel to expand their star doll's rep beyond the material world. Let's go.

Chapter 18

Master of Puppets

"How is Ivy, Pisces, whoever, Robin's mother?" Batman wasn't going to be so easily distracted from the blatant kidnapping of his son. Too bad Sylphine ignored the hell out of him.

"What is it? What is it? What is it?" She bounced on her tippy-toes tugging his arm like the child she resembled. After learning the truth about who and what the twins were, it was a bit...bizarre.

Screw that it was down right disturbing.

"Calm down Sylphy. It's your present but it benefits others too. Seeing as Nabu is obviously abusing his position and being a prick, he did manage to give me an idea of what to give my butterfly for a present. You see, she has a cute hobby, collecting dolls." He watched her smile grow. "Specifically living dolls."

An outline of a a person appeared then solidified. Floating in front of him was a perfectly formed and naked adult female that looked kinda off. Her shiny blond hair was tied up in two ponytails. Her big blue eyes were flat and dead, despite being wide open and the pink lipstick smile. Her arms were rigid and even though they were formed, her fingers were all fused together aside from her thumbs on each hand. She possessed a long ballerina's neck. Her body had no actual features beyond that.

Her breasts were just two shapely, gravity defying mounds without nipples. The torso lacked both a navel any actual curves. It just narrowed as it reached the hips. The pelvic area only had angled crease indicating something should be there if your eyes followed to the expected meeting of the creases but nothing was there. The legs narrowed unrealistically to the ankles. Her feet had no toes. They were just foot shaped and formed as if she were standing on the balls of her feet.

"It's a giant barbie doll, ya know before Mattel made her anatomically correct." Flash raised his hands in defense when his co workers turned to him with brows raised. "Iris collects the damn things!" He amended quickly.

"He's right. She's here to be Nabu's new body. He shouldn't have a problem with a female host. He tried to take Zatanna after all." He bent over and plucked the helmet from Giovanni's head, causing him to retake his former attire. He was still unconscious but that didn't stop Zatanna from nearly mowing down Batman who had moved in front of her while questioning Robin's disappearance. The Caped Crusader moved just in time to avoid footprints on his cape before she threw herself onto the floor beside him.

"Papa!" She cried placing his head in her lap and sobbing. "Pleas wake up..."

"He's gonna need some time to recover Zatanna." Virgo knelt beside her placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. "He will be fine." The Italian girl looked up at her and nodded wiping tears away.

"Fun fact: There's another reason Mother kept Kent from wearing the helmet any longer than he did." Castor twirled the helmet on his hand. "Nabu keeps himself anchored here by not only taking over the host's body but draining their magical core too. Kent Nelson lived far longer than any other wearer; by 30 years. I actually had to used a greater degree of my powers to fight when Pollux allowed him to take control because of this quirk. It's a little secret he never shared with his hosts. In fact, the only reason he taught the less experienced ones magic was to lengthen the time he could use them. As a thanks, Kent decided to play along when we first brought the helmet to your attention. Let's see how the Lord of Order likes being someone's plaything."

Instead of putting the helmet on the doll's head, he rammed it into her front. The material there gave way before wrapping around it, sucking the golden helmet into the chest cavity. Slowly, she donned the trademark blue and gold of Dr. Fate's costume but feminized and minus the head covering. Those blue eyes gained a spark of life before blinking. The happy face twisted into an angry expression once she looked around. The doll remained floating and could clearly see her former host in the arms of that willful little-

"What is the meaning of this?" Fate barked. The mages cracked up, as the sound was not the authoritative boom but that of a valley girl without all the 'like's thrown in. Nabu flailed in mid air trying to get down. It caused greater laughter. Even Lady Gaia chuckled.

The heroes looked at each other as the teens mind linked.

/Okay Robin's been kidnapped, blue boy just turned Dr. Fate into a my-size Barbie and they are all cracking up. Anyone else worried?/ Raquel asked.

/This is most disconcerting. It means we fought who we belived to be Klarion for no reason as he obviously had the power to take the Helmet at any time./ Kaldur noted.

/I think we should be glad all they did to was kill us.../ Connor sighed. /Still I think for all he's put us through Nabu deserves whatever's coming to him./

/It's sort of odd how she acts like a child. Sylphine is powerful but.../ Megan paused.

/Odd my ass! It's creepy!/ Artemis exclaimed.

/We can hear you./ Sighed Sagittarius. /All of us can./

The team froze and turned towards him. He looked bored. Gabriel waved to show he'd heard too.

"She's soo pretty! I wuv her Cas!" Sylphine cheered. "I already have a room for her!"

On the floor by the braided girl's feet a dollhouse appeared. It was average size for a child's toy and looked just like a mini mansion. When she knelt down to open it, there was only one room inside. A panoramic view of a large but single bedroom furnished like a princess suite straight out of a Disney flick.

"If you're entertaining enough, she might not break you Fate. See ya, definitely wouldn't wanna be ya." Castor grinned. That cruel, manic grin that had made countless others shudder.

"What is that supposed to mean you insolent brat? What have you done to me?" Nabu continued to rant and rave. And it continued to be amusing (or uncomfortable) as hell.

"I'll play with you when we're done talking. Enjoy your new home." The sweetness in her voice did nothing to play down the 'children of the damned' her eyes did next.

Anyone who blinked missed what happened next. The Dr. Fate doll was sucked into the dollhouse, screaming all the way. It took only a second before the hinges of the toy slammed shut and the whole thing vanished.

Inside Fate landed on his, now her, face. She was in the room only now everything was her size. Pulling herself up, she tried to use her magic. Nothing happened.

"That's not going to work." Another feminine voice sighed. He turned to see another doll, this one with red hair and brown eyes leaning against the door frame. She was dressed in a hideous pink ball gown with frills everywhere. Before Fate could open her mouth, the other doll raised a hand. "I've heard it all before. You're not the first new addition and you won't be the last honey. It doesn't matter if you used to be the supreme ruler of you galaxy. Here, you're just another air-headed toy." She looked rather disgruntled by her own comparison.

"I take it that's who you used to be." Nabu got up and walked towards her.

"Give the gal a prize." She rolled her eyes and started to leave.

"Wait. Tell me who you are and how to get out of here." She commanded.

"This room? Walk into the hallway. You can go anywhere you like, just not another doll's room. This warped fun house? Tch, You don't. Though it might be fun to watch you try. Names don't matter anymore, it's whatever she decides to call you. Loose the attitude sooner rather than later. Makes things a little more bearable." Her voice carried over the retreating clack of her heels on the floor. "Welcome to the Dollhouse, my dear. Welcome to Hell."

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"How do you feel?"

Robin opened his eyes slowly. Whatever had been done to him made him feel groggy. With a start, he realized he was sitting in a woman's lap, wrapped in her arms. That voice belonged to Poison Ivy! He struggled to get free before she placed a hand on his cheek and pulled him closer to her.

"It's okay, adar llachar*, mother's here." He cooed softly as she rocked him. The sound of her voice and the gentle motion drained the fight right out of him. It didn't stop the panic of his mind though.

He scanned the area with his eyes noting that they were outside somewhere. The sky was a brilliant blue and he could hear waves in the distance. All he saw though, was barren rocky ground around them. He assumed they were seated on a large rock. The cool breeze carried the scent of salt water to his nose.

The smell was familiar. He'd been to the beach, hell the cave was on one but this smell was different. Why?

"Do you remember this place?" She asked as a wind gust swirled her cloak around them.

At first he was going to say no. How could he remember somewhere he'd never been? This was insane-where'd that bird come from?

A bird had landed on his knee and chirped at him. It was a fluffy white bird, about the size of a pigeon. Large brown eyes blinked at him before it's short blue beak began to pick at his cape. Losing it's footing, it flapped pathetically only to flop over further up his leg. With wings out stretched, he could see one great black dot on the center of each one. It couldn't be.

Domino auks were extinct. A bit of otherwise useless information he'd learned in English class. Scholars had used this fact to give an approximate date for some poem written about them in the British Isles centuries ago. Did she take him back in time?

No. Not really.

A dreadful feeling pooled in the pit of his stomach. A particularly large wave crashing made him jump. The bird flew away and he clutched Ivy's arm like a scared little kid.

"AHHH!" The scream of a little boy played in his mind.

"Dim os gwelwch yn dda! Mae'n unig blentyn!"** A woman who sounded much like his abductor wailed. He couldn't see anyone but the way she yelled told him a lot. She was struggling against something or someone. She cried out in agony as he also heard several blows connecting with a body.

"Mae'n felltith! Chi i mi gythraul am etifedd!"** A man raged.

A sharp pain ripped through his chest causing the boy wonder to freeze in shock. Like he had been stabbed with a blade much wider than a knife. Robin was choking, yet coughing did nothing to clear his airways. Too weak to hold himself upright any longer, he went limp. Ivy held him tighter, and all he could do was sob as something hot and thick filled his lungs, drowning him. When he felt as if he would pass out again, it all just stopped.

This land was familiar, it had been his home once. A long time ago, much early than that stupid poem. But it didn't look like a wasteland then. This was a cliff he used to play on that looked over the ocean, covered in green grass. He remembered that it grew up to his waist but he had been much lower to the ground then. He used to chase those fluffy birds here while someone with deep red hair laughed and warned him to be careful. Until that day. He remembered who those voices belonged to now.

His mother had fought for him in vain here.

His father had murdered him here.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"Now, I would assume you have questions for us. Ones that do not concern Pisces and her son. When they return, you may ask them yourself Bruce." Lady Gaia's statement caused Batman to narrow his eyes. The Bat-glare had no effect on the woman who had all but revealed his identity.

"So...you all have been screwing with us." Green Arrow stated more than asked.

"Not you in particular Ollie but that is a blunt way to put it. You have to understand that we were all bound and unable to blurt this out unless there was no other way. Fate's campaign made it impossible to ignore the damage being done." Virgo hugged herself and shrank away from his hateful stare. "It wasn't our intention to hurt any of you. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Too damn bad." He snapped back. Pollux scowled and was about to yell at him but his little brother beat him to it.

"Hold it. You don't get to talk to her like that!" Sagittarius stood up and began to walk towards him. He stopped when Virgo grabbed his hand.

"It's alright Lord Sagittarius. He is entitled to his anger." She whispered. Her blue eyes sparkled with tears she was trying to hold back. He shook his head.

"The hell he is! She's still the same woman who forgave you for running around behind her back with those cheap sluts only after your cash and stuck by you when you almost lost your shirt! She's still the same woman who spent all that time patching your sorry ass up after you got it handed to you in a fight. Her voice is a weapon but it can heal too; that's why she sings for you. You have no idea how much this has been hurting her!" Sagittarius fumed. "Just like I'm still the smart-alec who thinks you need to fucking get over yourself, you are not the center of the universe Queen and I'll be damned if you're always right. She lied. I lied. And? She did it to protect you. Because she loves you, duh. Flash understands our situation. Why can't you?"

Oliver felt as if he should expect to grow a tail and huge donkey ears to sprout from under his hood. Dinah was always there for him. In the beginning, he had cheated on her more than once. Still she took him back each time. She could have made his life hell, especially when he was injured and needed help. Instead she babied him and made sure he recovered as quickly as possible. He thought the singing was just something she liked to do.

Boy was he wrong.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

*Bright bird

**Please no! He is only a child!

***He is a curse! You bore me a demon as an heir!

Open mouth, insert foot Ollie. Next chapter will have more action I promise. Bruce goes nuts trying to find his little bird and the real enemy makes themselves known to the League by publicly ending their partnership with the Light. Here's a hint: Shiva is the Hindu god/goddess of destruction. Kali is god/goddess companion to that, death. Vishnu is regarded as the supreme deity (or one his/her forms). There's some gender ambiguity in the Hindu pantheon. Still, I apologize to anyone I may offend as this is still a practicing religion. Stay tuned.

Reviews are always greatly appreciated. Sirensoundwave out.


	19. Get Out Alive

Here's where the story starts to really pick up. The Light makes an appearance as do the rival guardian and his mages. Robin remembers his past life, how it was cut short and how the anger of a woman who lost everything turned a prosperous land and it's people into a historical foot note.

This title fits all three parts of this chapter. The song is about trusting yourself, how things aren't always what they seem and of course, running for one's life.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 19

Get out Alive

He wasn't sure how long he lay there. Boneless and racked by unending tears. He did know his mother was there though. That she had kept her promise just like she always did.

"Mam (Mom)..."

"Yes Boreugwyn (bor AH'EE gwin)?" Ivy, no Blodyndŵr ( BLOWD-ahN dooer), his mother. Oh what a cruel irony their names had been.

Pure morning. He had been regarded as anything but pure since his hair darkened as a baby.

A broad sword pierce his chest while the sun was setting.

Water flower. Both her namesakes were plentiful in her lifetime, keeping the valley they called home full of life. When she died, so did their people.

"What did I do? Why was I bad?" He buried his face in her bosom.

"Nothing bright bird. You were born into a people that had never seen hair like yours. Blond, red and light brown yes, but never black. Only from the demons beyond the sea, the ones who came when your grandfather was chieftain. They burned our homes and took whatever they could carry back with them.

Your father, Arwyn, was the next chieftain, expecting to have a strong heir. And he did, you favored him in all but two ways. You're kind heart and your hair which began to darken not long after you were born. Being gentle was not something looked well on in a man, even less in their future leader but it could be overlooked. The fact that you looked so much like the Beyonders however, it was seen as an evil omen. A sign that they would return.

Many wanted to kill you right then. But my mother convinced them that if it were an omen, you were only the messenger, still an innocent child. Years passed and nothing happened. Instead of rejoicing, everyone grew more fearful. Then you showed a gift only the women in my family had, magic. My line had long been the priestesses of our people, blessed with mystic powers. It was the reason your father chose me, not for love but for power. Still, I did my duty as his wife and gave him a son.

A clan head named Bowen contested the fact that you were not killed as a baby. He said that his crops were not as plentiful, that they shrank each year you lived; that the coming harvest would be worse. Others sided with him claiming similar things. Injuries, illness the list goes on. When Bowen tried to get you, I got in his way and he struck me with his mace instead. In your anger, you yelled horrible things at Bowen including the wish for him to suffer because he hurt me. You had just seen your 7th spring thaw, the age most of your aunts and cousins could predict the weather or tell fortunes.

That afternoon, wolves attacked his hunting party. Bowen's brother died and he lost a hand while many of his men were maimed. Your father chased you here, intent on honoring the people's plea for your death. I tried to stop him but I wasn't strong enough. I was only wounded but he drove his sword through you." Robin felt her tears in his hair like raindrops. "I blamed myself for not seeing the signs, not taking you and running far away when you were born. I blamed our people. I blamed the spirits. I swore that you would be avenged and held you as your light faded, screaming to the heavens when my baby stilled.

To die in anger is to sow the seeds for a terrible curse, it was the last thing my mother told me before she passed on, placing her ritual dagger in my hands. I know now that she had seen your future but because she was so weak from fever, all she could do was tell me how to redress the wrong that would be done. I had always kept it on me, even tried to defend you with it before your father beat me to badly to properly hold it."

"You killed yourself because of me." Came a weak murmmer from him.

"NO! I did it because of them! Nothing that happened was your fault Boreugwyn, you were just a child. A sweet boy killed because of fear! Spilling my own blood cursed this land, turning it against our tribe. The river and wells turned to dust, the soil grew too tainted for even rains to water. The forests withered, the animals fled and the Green Valley tribe died out.

I wanted you to have the life that was stolen from you but both of our souls were trapped here. I don't know how long we haunted this place, only glad you had your birds to play with you; you didn't seems to notice. Lord Castor came to me one day with an offer."

_*Flashback*_

"_Blodyndŵr, I can give him a new life but nothing is without a price my dear." The red head turned to see the cloaked figure watching her son's spirit run with the birds around the cliff. It had been so long since she had heard her name, she'd almost forgotten it. No one who ventured here could see them._

"_Who are you? What are you?" The priestess knew of evil spirits that sometimes came for those still bound this world but was unsure if he was one. If he was, she was unsure if her magic could still protect them._

"_Some one who knows what it is like to give their all for ones who would betray them. Your child can live again in an era where his gifts will make him special, be seen as a blessing not a curse." He chuckled wryly._

"_And your price?"_

"_Your soul." That answer sent a chill through her being. He was one of them! She had to get to Boreugwyn before this monster devoured them. He grabbed her before she could disappear. "I can only help you if you are no longer tied to this plane. I will not steal your essense if that is what you fear. On the contrary, I will give you the power to protect and watch over your son as he grows. All I ask is for you to bind yourself to me, become my servant."_

"_What do you get out of this? What must I do for you?" She frowned._

"_I desire a companion to help me with my work."_

_*End*_

"I gave my soul to that stranger and became Pisces, a goddess of sorts representing water and earth. I helped my new master remove threats to the balance and other tasks he assigned. It was never anything degrading, I don't believe Lord Castor saw me that way. He won't admit it, but Lord Pollux told me he acted out of compassion and pity. Still, I grew to enjoy my new life. And in return, the Graysons had you. When you were reborn, I capped your abilities to barely more than precognition and affecting chance; after all using them unknowingly caused your end the first time. I became Poison Ivy to be near you, be able to see you in person, not just my mirrors. And be there when in case you ever needed me.

Don't tell Bruce, but I helped him when Zucco escaped. I simply tightened the bind on your powers so he had a chance to restrain you. But I knew you would eventually shatter that one too. By then, I would be able to teach you.

That poem you read in school was about our legend. It doesn't rhyme in English."

Pisces continued to stroke his hair as she hummed.

"A child loved a child lost. A mother's love, a mother's fury. Here and forever after, this land will not prosper. Once a great green valley, now barren and craggy, shadowed by misery." He sat up and recited the last lines of the poem. It was set in Wales, about how the domino auks watched over a little boy being born and played with him for years. They returned to meet him one day only to find him and his mother dead. Too sad to leave their young friend and the woman who cared for him, the flock lay down with their bodies never to rise again.

He'd read his past and didn't even know it.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

After the big reveal, there were still a bunch of things to discuss. Lady Gaia suggested doing so in private before she left, taking Sylphine and Gabriel with her. The mentors and their protege's had divided themselves into pairs and began talking out their issues. Zatara was taken to the infirmary by Virgo who promised to heal him.

Batman left to find Robin. The whole way to the Zeta beam he grumbled about how much he despised magic. Words he would later have to eat.

Sagittarius wandered about waiting to speak to Artemis alone himself. Epsilon who had been silent was running around with Sphere and Wolf. That left Z without anyone to talk to right? Nope. Castor, back to looking like the Lord of Chaos she'd first met, came up to her.

"What do you want with me?" She tried and failed not to seem angry. This was the same guy who planned for the world's worst piece of headgear to possess her father. Made the last eight months of her life miserable when it was possible for him to stop it. All of it.

"How does someone get stronger?" He responded.

"What are you-"

"Just answer the question." He huffed at her, looking annoyed.

"Hard work and practice."

"Wrong answer."He poked her forehead. "We get stronger when we are tested. Zatanna, you have the potential to become the greatest sorceress of this age. I lied when I first told you about the dagger."

"There's a shocker." The young magician scoffed.

"Calm down. Sheesh. I lied when I said it wasn't destiny. Nabu had you find it sooner than expected, got you ridiculously close to offing your self with it, and caused you pain but it has always been your fate to own it. You don't know your worth until you take a hit. You can never fully appreciate joy with out understanding sorrow. That's how life works. Because of all you went through, it recognized you for the strong person you are. That's all I wanted to say. I'm sure Syl's occupied with her new toy. Guess I better make sure Bats doesn't go batty before Pisces comes back. Later."

Zatanna watched him drop into a black portal in the floor. She was still upset but she felt a little better. It turns out the guy she was supposed to look up to, that her father gave his body to, was out to get her but the one person she wasn't suppose to trust in a million years had been looking out for her the whole time.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Meanwhile, in the command center for the Watchtower, Mr. Terrific was monitoring the airwaves around the world, looking for signs of trouble. He didn't mind covering for Jonn when he was out in the field or off duty. More often as of late, this had been his full time station. His spheres and Manhunter's telepathy pretty much made them the only ones who could do this with out mental overload. Well, Batman filled in occasionally but he was known for doing the impossible.

A transmission simulcast in several languages caught his attention. He couldn't pin point the source so he just began to record it. He recognized Queen Bee and Lex Luthor standing in front of several other shadowed figures.

/We interrupt your regularly scheduled mind numbing drivel for an important annoncement. For the course of Earth's evolution has been altered by the Justice League, and not in a good way. Persecuting the strong, protecting the weak and instituting their brand of so called justice will be humanity's end. The strong are meant to subjugate and devour the weak./ Luthor's voice echoed across the world. Translated into dozens of languages. /We have partnered with other like minded individuals to save us from ruin./

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is our great pleasure to introduce the ones who will usher in a new age for the human race. The ones to show use all the Light. Queen Bee regally gestured to those beside her.

First was a petite young woman dressed like a belly dancer. Her silky trousers, slippers and tube top were blood red. Her long brown hair behaved s if it were alive. Clasped in her hands was a spear with there small prongs that narrowed to a a point. Beside her, obviously her twin wearing the same outfit in blue. Her hair too seemed to be moving like it were made of snakes. In her hands, a curved sword. Behind them, shirtless man with four arms. He looked much like the two girls...his daughters perhaps? Two arms rested on the girls' shoulders. The second set was on his hips, the elbows clearly seen.

/Thank you for that fitting introduction. Very well put./ The man's voice was deep, like the sound of the earth rumbling. His face was handsome...until he donned a devious smile. /But, we regret to inform you that the services of the Light are no longer necessary./

That was all the notice given before the screen was splatted with blood. Someone wiped the camera lens clean and billions the world over were no doubt horrified.

In the left hand of the girl in blue, the severed head of Bilalya's Queen dangled by her ebony locks. In the right, the bloody sword. The woman's body was slumped over the podium, baring the gory stump left of her neck for all to see.

Lex was still standing but not under his own power. The girl in red had rammed her spear straight through the rear of his skull and our through the front of his face. She held him upright this way like a macabre puppet before yanking it out kicking the him as he dropped like a rock.

/Cou-sins, come out and pla-aayyy./ Both girls chorused as if they were children in a schoolyard. A rumbling cackle from the man behind them sounded and the screen went black.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Vishnu, Shiva and Kali are now in the YJ world. What now? We get to see just what they had the Light doing before they...severed their ties.

Reviews appreciated. Stay tuned. Sirensoundwave out.


	20. Your Betrayal

******Hello!**

So, the real threat has shown themselves. The Knights have revealed themselves and Robin learned about the origin of the mysterious force that protects him. This is the first real battle chapter so I appologize if it's not great.I had a tough time with this one because I'm not good with writing fight scenes. Shiva and Kali go after the one Knight that's alone and pandemonium ensues on the Watchtower. With all the recent developments, no one's actually had time to notify each other of recent developments.

Let it be noted that there is a difference in the actual size of the League between the JLUverse and the YJverse. The reason being heroes working together on such a scale is a rather new concept in the Earth-16 continuity. I hate this. So, I'm using the JLUverse catalog of heroes and function of the Watchtower. It gives me an excuse to use more of my favorite characters in cameo capacity ; ). This doesn't mean the league is huge though (the story would fall apart with me trying to keep up), it just makes it more interesting when the events of this chapter unfold.

**********Bullet for My Valentine's Your Betrayal is the sound track.  
**

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 20  
Your Betrayal

Booster Gold loved times like this. Nothing was really going on, well the kids were missing but the A-listers were handling that. Not his problem on second string. It's not that he was lazy per say just...immensely frustrated at the moment. And watching his crime fighting partner in his lab on the Watchtower was driving him insane. There was only so much a man could do on his own and Booster was at his limit. No missions meant he could finally do something about that frustration. Reclining in his chair, his mind wandered.

He hated Blue's costume not for any fashion reason but because the evil thing hid so much of his boyfriend; his eyes, his skin and that gorgeous reddish brown hair. It was a bitch to get off of the shorter man too. That costume helped Booster focus though; if he couldn't see that hair, that skin or those eyes he was far less likely to pull the inventor off of the battlefield, into an alley and ravish him senseless while their comrades continued the mission. Yes it was that distracting dammit.

Before him at the moment was plainly attired Ted Kord, not Blue Beetle though. So naturally all he could think about was turning that soft tan flesh bright red. Seeing those baby blue eyes glazed over in lust and sweat matting rust colored locks to his forehead. Ted didn't seem to understand his own body was just built for sin. He was very self conscious and simply didn't notice how other men sometimes looked at him or tried coming on to him when they thought Michael wasn't around. When he did, confusion was written all over his face. That fact alone pissed Michael off to no end. While the expression was adorable, the blond still wanted to break the asswipe's knees for even thinking about taking what was his.

Now, if only he could get the man away from his newest project. He could think of far better uses for the surface of that table...

That's as far as he gets in planning before the klaxons signalling a security breach sound. Oblivious to his lover's plight, Ted ran off to suit up and the sound of a head repeatedly hitting a wall also goes unnoticed over the noise of the alarm.

The universe is officially out to get him. If only he knew how literal that statement was.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

In only a litttle while, the main hall was a warzone. The same two girls from the video feed were tearing through the world's finest like tissue paper.

Hal Jordan was down for the count covered in deep bloody gashes. His ring had been quickly drained facing the young woman in blue wielding the scythe-like sword and she took great delight in carving him up like a turkey. Barely conscious, he saw the limp form of ten year old Billy Baston surrounded by an ever growing pool of red.

Captain Marvel tried (and failed) to fight off a horde of beasts made of emerald energy sent after him by the same girl. That solved the mystery of how the Green Lantern lost his powers so fast. They pounced on him all at once clawing and tearing but seemed to lose interest and dissipate once a flash of lightning revealed their opponent to be a mere child.

Wonder Woman was actually nursing a broken leg among other grievous injuries. The amazon found herself just as horrified at the sight of several bone fragments jutting out of the skin as seeing the light rapidly dim in the youngest leaguer's eyes. Crawling to him (the armor that gave her the ability to fly was cracked), she pulled the boy into her lap and clutched his tiny hand. She silently vowed to comfort him as best she could in their final moments.

Red Tornado was missing the entire left side of his body and totally useless. No one was sure if he was even functioning. The same one that beat the Amazon Princess to a pulp had fired a wave of energy from her spear that took him out and caused a terrified scream behind him.

Hawkwoman was desperately trying to stem the flow from where part of her husband's left wing and arm had been sheared off from the blast. He had thrown her clear and for the most part she was unharmed. The energy of the attack did nothing to cauterize the wounds so Shayera had torn parts of her uniform off for tourniquets but he poor man was beginning to show signs of shock and she was helpless to do any more.

Booster Gold was already in shock but not from a wound. Lying pale and still in his lap was Blue Beetle, a baseball sized hole through his chest. This couldn't be happening. The time traveller sat catatonic clutching his lover's body. The golden armour, his visor and even his hair dripped crimson from the spray of his beloved's life essence into the air.

One of Mr. Terrific's spheres had shielded the grieving man but left himself open to a blast of electric energy that sent him into a far wall where he did not rise. The only person bodily able to move was the only one without much defense against energy based attacks. Batman braced himself for the inevitable, a batarang drawn, as the manic eyed girl in red flew at him spear at the ready. He'd only returned to the tower to use the computer program Fate designed to search for Robin. His tracker was disabled but his signature given off by his strange powers should still be traceable. Once he cleared the virus the boy had infected it with of course.

A blur of black and a scream of agony later, the Dark Knight found the triple prongs inches from his face. But protruding from the back of a familiar black jacket.

"So you came to save your mortal toys. Figures, you always did care more for these creatures than your own kind." The girl hissed and violently yanked the weapon free. "It will be your undoing, love."

"Oh no, Shiva! You don't get to call me that anymore you psychotic bitch!" The being known to most in the room as Klarion yelled at her. Black liquid stained his white shirt and collected at his feet. He slashed the air with clawed hands, creating arcs of red that forced her back towards her sister. Before she had a chance to recover, a dome of the same magic enclosed the Justice League members and him in a protective shield.

"How did you get here?" Wonder Woman demanded. She instantly regretted yelling as she felt something broken inside poke something else painfully.

"Why are you protecting us? You brought them didn't you?" Hawkwoman ragged, grabbing her mace but Batman grabbed her arm. "Let me go!"

"You really ought to be more concerned with the fact that the instant I pass out, you all die." Klarion dropped to his hands and knees still outlined in a red aura. Bruce realized the inky puddle under the Chaos Mage to be his blood and at this rate, he's be unconscious in minutes. The shield was already flickering.

"Get out here and face me you coward! You fell into our trap now die like a man!" The same girl screamed as she fired blast after blast at the dome. Each one caused cuts to open up on Klarion's face and body; more blood collected under him and the glow around them to flicker even more dangerously.

"You're totally cut off from the others and that pitiful guise won't last long against the two of us." The one in blue joined her in the assault causing the witchboy to cry out in pain.

"Got back to Hell Kali! Hey Batsy you better call my brother now! I'm stuck in this form without him and in case you haven't noticed, it's no match for these harpies." He groaned weakly through gritted teeth.

"If you can't how am I suppose to?" Batman frowned. He hadn't seen just how powerful Castor really was but he knew it was greater than he let on. If these women had blocked him, the odds of a distress signal from his com getting out were slim to none.

"What is going on?" Hal rasped.

"Question later, signal now! Just call out for him in your mind, he's tuned to you guys. Hurry up! I can't do this forever!"

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"Gah!" Wally screamed clutching his left hand. His symbol was burning like mad. "Cas is in trouble! Everyone on the tower is!"

"I can't sense him! What the hell?" Roy abandoned his conversation with Artemis and grabbed his thigh doubling over. His symbol was pulsing painfully too. "But he's hurt bad...ngh!"

"What's happening?" Superman questioned.

"Shiva and Kali are here. They're attacking the Watchtower. The only reason they're there is they knew Cas would be alone trying to talk to Bats. Epsilon, go get Gabriel and Sylphine; tell her that crazy bitch is after her man." Roy snarled.

"Yes master!" The young body vanished.

"We better get up there." Flash said. Wally tripped him before he got off one foot. "What gives?"

"Uncle B, no! Those two are bad news and you won't have a chance. Let us handle it."

"We have to do something! You don't seriously expect us to wait around while you go play hero do you?" Artemis cried. "This is what we're trained to do."

"Not it's not!" Wally's eyes flashed white. "Dammit for once listen to me! This is why we exist. This is a battle between chaos mages and mortals have no place in it!"

The team and their mentors watched him run into the transporter fast enough to leave fire in his wake followed by Roy. Mortals, he'd called them mortals like they were fragile and weak. So that was it? They trained and battled only to be told to stay put like children?

For the first time, the world's mightiest heroes and their proteges felt utterly useless.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Poor Blue and Gold (sob).

Who's still alive and who's already dead? What did Roy mean by what he said to Epsilon? One thing is for sure, a very mad Sylphine will make an appearance next chapter. Haven't forgotten about Robin and Pisces, you'll see why they haven't come back yet soon. Stay tuned to have these questions answered. Reviews appreciated.

Sirensoundwave out.


	21. Misery Business

This chapter shows what Sylphine is really like (in terms of behavior, appearance, and powers). We also see Wally in his Chaos Mage form (yay!). Misery Business by Paramore is the soundtrack. Let's go!

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 21  
Misery Business

"This is not how I planned to spend today." Klarion snarked.

It amazed those able to process what was going on that the boy or whatever he was could still be sarcastic when it was obvious that he was leaking like a sieve. To be fair, they were also having trouble with the notion that one of their most mentally unstable enemies was all that stood between then and certain death. The League couldn't see through the energy but the way the whole Watchtower kept quaking left no doubt that those harpies were still there. He was still maintaining the shield around them and each strike to it him to groan in pain. The crimson aura around him pulsed like it was threatening to fade away.

Which meant the shield would as well. Then they were toast.

Great.

Then there was a very loud screech and everything stopped shaking. No one was sure whether to be relieved or terrified. The odds that they had left out of boredom were practically zero, that they were sure of. Especially with how the one in red, Shiva, had looked at Klarion. With such hate and loathing coupled with unbridled crazy. She hadn't looked sane to begin with but seeing the blue skinned male had amped it up to a level Bruce was all too familiar with. Of course as Gotham's Most Eligible Bachleor, he'd broken his fair share of hearts. Granted they were mostly either gold diggers or ditzy brats with a sense of entitlement but that look had been thrown at him more than once. It even has a very famous, very accurate quote referencing it.

_"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."_

They were going to die, Batman was sure of it.

"God you're so negative Bats." A voice sighed. "Whoa, this is bad."

Everyone's attention turned to see Wally standing there in his civvies. He was surveying the state of the fallen heroes and looking a little pale.

"Thank you Captain Obvious. These are _your _friends so why am I the one with massive hemorrhaging?" He frowned. "Get over here!"

Without another word, the red head grabbed the sorcerer's right hand with his left; the sign for the Gemini constellation flaring to life on the backs of those hands. Wonder Woman's eyes went wide. She knew what this meant; those symbols...it was impossible! Yet it seemed the stories her mother told had her as a child were real. The Gods her people praised were merely charlatans. These beings before her were not merely fables. A sobering realization.

She had been in the presence of true divinity and never known it. As the shield evaporated, Diana couldn't help but feel she should be on bended knee. But, her body would have protested moving her leg much less bending any other part of her.

Shackles appeared on their wrists connected by a chain. Their bodies shifted, giving them an older appearance as their clothing became bodysuits in polarized colors, one white, one black. The same kind worn by wrestlers; the real ones they have state and national championships for. Draped over their shoulders were their black robes. Gone were Wally and Klarion, replaced by Pollux and Castor.

Castor stood still injured but not in as much pain. Both turned to the heros lying around them, unsure who was dead or dying.

The cause of the ceasefire was now very clear. Gabriel, Sylphine and Sagittarius had arrived too and were now in play. More accurately, Gabriel was battling the one known as Kali to keep her at bay. Sagittarius was doing what he could to keep the place from shaking apart at the seams. The one called Shiva was trying to keep Sylphine from causing her grievous bodily harm.

A six foot tall man built like a linebacker, clad in black pants and a silver tunic shirt smacked Kali away like a bug using...an umbrella? Made of bamboo and delicate rice paper adorned with black ravens in flight against a purple backdrop, the weapon hardly seemed like a weapon at all. Kali recovered quickly and sent a blast at her new opponent. He countered by opening the parasol, causing the birds to come to life and swarm her.

"Gahh!" She cried slashing wildly with her blade. Each bird she slashed divided into two catching her in a maelstrom of razored talons and dagger-like beaks.

Sagittarius set about casting his power into the space station, literally holding everything together with his will. It wouldn't do to fight them off only to have the mortals die in space.

As this went on, a petite woman wearing a white cheongsam with golden butterflies on it attacked Shiva with two large folding fans. Her trishula was moving at lightening speed to parry the blows as Sylphine backed her towards a wall.

"So you're the whore he shacked up with." Shiva scoffed. "Not impressed." She jabbed the prongs into the floor, using the leverage to kick the other woman in the chest. Those golden eyes narrowed as she stumbled back braids whipping behind her.

"No, I'm the bitch that's going to break your face!" One fan snapped closed, gripped in her fist as she punched the red clad woman in the head repeatedly. "What you can't have him so no one can?"

"That's right! Dance of Torrents!" She spat blood at her opponent and ribbons of water swirled from the trishula, collecting in the form of a serpent before striking like one.

"Electric Zephyr!" A gust of charged air was released from the fan still open.

Water and lightning collided in mid-air. Predictably, the lightning powered through, electrocuting Shiva. She fell on her back moaning in pain, energy still arcing across her body. Sylphine smirked.

"Dumbass." Slipping the fans into the sash around her waist, the braided woman ran to the injured group. "Cas, oh dear affinity!"

"Not as bad as it looks butterfly, just can't turn back into Klarion for a while or I'll die. No big deal. " Says the man standing in a puddle of his own blood trying to smile like he was fine. The look she gave him was clearly disbelieving. "Honest!"

Before Syl could fuss at him, Shiva had gotten to her feet unseen. Eyes glowing the same red as her outfit, she level her weapon not at Syl's back.

"Dance of- GACK!"

The chain attaching the Gemini was wrapped around her throat and pulled tight like a noose. Her tanned face turned an interesting shade of purple.

"Do shut up." Pollux kicked her in the face adding to welts and bruises already there. "Are we too stupid to feel pain now?"

"Sister! Let her go!" Kali raged. She spotted Diana off to the side and was behind her in an instant with a fist full of the Amazon's hair, blade to her throat. "Or the Princess loses her head!"

"..." Gabriel had moved too slowly to stop her and now stood a few feet away scowling. Everyone knew how these things worked. Anyone moved an a head would roll. While his concern for the hostage was minimal (nonexistent) , he was sure Pollux would be less than pleased if he caused the death of one of his treasured humans even if only by proxy. Well she was technically immortal but semantics weren't important now. Adding more of her blood to the room decor was definitely not going to get on his beloved's good side.

"Be cool Kali. We don't want anyone to die-" Pollux began.

"Speak for yourself." Sylphine muttered but the other light mage ignored her.

"Just leave. Your plan didn't work, get over it and get gone." He finished with a sigh. The chain phased through her sister's neck allowing the now passed out mage to fall over in a heap. A blue blur rushed by, snatching her up.

"This isn't over, not by a long shot!" Kali declared teleporting away. That left the five Chaos Mages alone with Earth's best in the crimson soaked room. After a few moments of very awkward silence, it was Sagittarius who spoke up. He'd been able to restore the overall structure to stable.

"Er, how about we heal everyone then explain."

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"Mam we have to go! Batman's in trouble I just know it." Robin lept out of Pisces lap.

"No bright bird. My master has forbidden me from taking you there. We can go wait with your friends but not the battle itself." She stood as well.

"Why? We can help them. The team can!" He turned to her, eyes burning with anger. For a second she was startled, something akin to fear danced across her face. Then emerald eyes flickered with recognition and she giggled a bit to her son's confusion and ire.

"I suppose certain traits come with age. Every bit as impulsive as Arwyn ever was." She shook her head.

"Not funny! Don't compare me to that monster, he's the reason we died!" The Boy Wonder fumed. How dare she joke about something like that? What reason would she have to liken him to the man who murdered him? Them? He felt that sensation again. The one in the pit of his stomach before he went off on Dr. Fate.

"Robin, Richard look at me. What your father did to you was heinous, there are times when I can still hear you scream. Feel your warm blood running down my dress. See the light die in your eyes. I also remember your little feathered friends looking at me, wanting to know why you weren't the lively boy they knew anymore. A whole species of birds vanished from the Earth in sorrow that day. I have lived centuries with those wretched memories in my mind. But, it serves no purpose to curse the dead. He acted out of fear and a desire to protect his people, the same thing any other in his position would have done in those days.

I understood that then but simply did not care. My heart was so full of hatred it did not matter to me that many innocents would pay along with the few guilty when I drove the life from this place. And for that, I was punished. Trapped in the ruin I caused I was unable to move on to the next world and my selfishness kept you tethered here too.

But had that not occurred, you would not be here now. Have the friends you do, enjoy the things this era has to offer. You've had your share of heartbreak but you also got to live the life you should have the first time. With a father that treasures you more than life itself."

"But without you. I grew up hating you but feeling so guilty for it; I finally know why. Now things are going to hell all over again but so much worse! What was the point of letting me be reincarnated, of having me wake up if I can't do anything to save the people I love?"

"When did I say that?" She raised a fine eye brow. "Son, there is a reason things have happened the way they have for you and your little friends. The Light was helping Lord Vishnu create his army to invade this world. Did you really think we weren't taking countermeasures?"

Robin opened his mouth to argue but closed it so his brain could catch up. Forcing both Kaldur and Aquaman to acknowledge the power in side the younger Atlantean. Strengthening the bond between Conner and Megan working to undo the spell Nabu put on Supes. Allowing Zatanna to get so close to breaking. The fostering of Raquel and Artemis' determination not to be what society expected them to that forged such strong wills. His own freakishness.

He wasn't sure if he should be amazed, overjoyed or just pissed beyond belief so he settled on all three. Lady Gaia knew this would happen. And she prepared them for the coming storm through the school of hard knocks. Used Nabu's interference to her advantage and creating the ones that would stand to defend this reality.

"And just as clever as your Mam!" The happiness he missed from her praising him as a little boy rang through that cheerful declaration. She'd watched him work it out in his head with genuine pride in her boy. "Your time to shine is coming, just not yet bright bird. Let's get you back."

With a flash and shower of blue sparkles, cliff was once again without human life. The flock of white birds with spotted wings that had been circling overhead faded as well.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

The atmosphere at the cave was just as nerve wrecking. They didn't have a Zodiac Knight able to help them puzzle it all out like Robin did. As a result, frustration levels ran high.

"That arrogant jerk!" Artemis grumbled. "Mortals have no place in it my ass! What the hell are we good for then? Was it just to make us feel like we mattered when we weren't making a damn difference or just to amuse him?" What she really meant was 'Kid Idiot better come back alive'.

"Artemis calm down. We aren't going to get any answers till they come back." Connor sighed then scowled when everyone stared at him. "What? I can be rational." Megan smiled and hugged his bicep.

"It was just a little out of character is all but you do have a point. If their true forms are all as powerful as Roy was when we fought him, I have no doubt they'll return soon." Superman smiled.

"Yes but where does that leave us? We have listened to their story, but where do we fit into this? Lady Gaia said that creating the League was supposed to ensure those of this reality could defend it. If we're nothing but liabilities in this battle, what about the ones sure to come?" Green Lantern thought aloud. "Sagittarius knocked me and Superman around like toys by himself."

"Hang on, GL. Wally was trying to tell me something before they got called away. Only those born of a reality have the right or ability to direct its evolution. I know there's more to this situation than they had the chance to tell us." Flash folded his arms.

"Great, more waiting. No choice I guess." Raquel shrugged after flopping down on the sofa .  
"Klar- Castor told me that I was meant to have this. Even though Dr. Fate manipulated the circumstances to try and get rid of me, all he really did was speed up the inevitable." Zatanna stared hard at the Dagger of Hecate clutched in her hand.

The room was heavy with confusion and silence. I didn't really make sense for the Knights to go through so much crap to make sure their relationships mended if they were really useless. There had to be something else. Right?

In the medbay, Virgo sat in the lotus position with her eyes closed chanting in a language that sounded more like the plucking of harp strings than a voice. The blond was levitating beside Zatara's bedside, both encased in a light pink aura. She had told Ollie before beginning that the magician's magical core was severely depleted. While it was completely within her power to restore it to full strength instantly, that method ran the risk of destroying all that made him who he was, mind and soul. So, she was forced to help it regenerate on its own. It would take time and left her vulnerable while she worked.

He'd come to talk to her about them really but seeing her so focused on giving Z her father back turned the words to ash in his mouth. Going into battle after battle knowing she was severely handicapped, unable to use her full power. Volunteering to train the next generation. Putting up with his ungrateful ass. Human or not the whole time he knew her had been about putting others above herself. She had lied and deceived them all true but to what end? Her own suffering and their protection.

God he felt like such a tool.

He sat down on a nearby bed to wait. Green Arrow hadn't the foggiest idea how long it would take. Nonetheless, he owed it to Virgo to be there for her when she was done. To be her support and protection for a change.

The more he thought on it, the more her true name grew on him.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

"We failed." Shiva sulked cradled in a set of their father's arms as he treated her injuries.

"No no my dear. You let them know they are not invincible anymore. Put a healthy dose of fear in them. Nothing goes as planned the first go around." He rumbled as he stroked her healing face. "You also learned that temper of yours is a liability."

"Don't worry sis, we'll get that bastard and his little slut too. I managed to snag a little something before we bailed. I do believe I've found the perfect leader for our foot soldiers Father." Balanced on the tip of her sword was an egg shaped ball of light.

Around this time in space, Pollux jerked his hand away from Billy's body in horror. Everyone was being healed enough to no longer be in mortal danger.

"What's wrong? Something in there that shouldn't be?" Gabriel slung his umbrella over his shoulder pulling the Lantern to his feet. Standing up, Hal could see just how big it really was; the size of one you'd take to the beach.

"No. Something that _should_ be_ isn't_. His body is alive, but his soul is_ gone_."

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

The bad guys took Captain Marvel's soul? I am evil I know. It's been slow in coming but we finally see the point of all the Knights' subterfuge. Thanks to all willing to keep on reading this thing.

My story "Why Does No One Read the Manual" is not on affnet, only this site but a one shot expanding the synesthesia scene with Booster Gold/Blue Beetle is two thirds done and will be posted there. Dunno what I'm talking about? Check it out for a laugh and pray for Lt. Pross.

Also, the place Robin lived in a past life is made up as are the 'extinct' domino auk birds.

If anyone cares, here's a list of the Mage and Knight weapons (some have not actually been shown yet).

Sylphine: A set of tessen, Japanese war fans

Gabriel: An umbrella; don't laugh, these things are illegal in several settings the world over because they CAN be used as deadly weapons and people have been killed by some of the more sturdy ones.

Castor and Pollux: The chain binding them; it is not a handicapp

Sagittarius: Bow and arrows; they are gold in this form as opposed to red and black when he's Red Arrow.

Virgo: A hand harp or lyre; her voice hinted at it

Pisces: A mirror; she can make more than one

Shiva: Trishula, the trident wielded by the real Hindu deity.

Kali: Curved sword; have yet to find the actual name but it is used by the real Hindu deity.

Reviews appreciated, but so not required. Stay tuned. Sirensoundwave out.


	22. One X

Kudos to all my readers, new and returning. First things first.

This story exists in two forms on two sites with two different sets of rules. No actual lyrics can be on this site, but they can be on affnet. I cannot ask for reviews on affnet. But here I can, so the last statement in my author's note last chapter was not meant to be smarmy I just forgot to take it out of this version. So, by all means review this fic and tell me what you think. Just don't be a jackass about it.

This chapter mostly going to explore reactions to the new situation. There's mixed feelings and trust issues abound. I had to pick and choose who was going to lean to what direction and it was kinda difficult. The reason should be apparent as you read. We see more of what the Mages are like as people as they attempt to explain themselves and their actions. Three Days Grace gives us our soundtrack, One X. Let's go.

/

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Chapter 22  
One X

/

Right now, the adult Leaguers and four of the Chaos Mages were on the Watchtower. The Team and the Knights that acted in servant capacity were at the Cave on Earth.

In the span of one day, the world had turned on it's head. Enemies turned out to be allies. Allies turned out to be more than they appeared. And one trusted hero turned our to be a douche with a superiority complex. That last one was no secret, just no one realized how corrupt it made him.

The fact that Klarion or rather Castor had defended them was mind blowing. The same crazy kid that murdered Kent Nelson for the Helmet of Fate. That was part of the highest level of the Light and nearly killed them all on several occasions. Now they were suppose to believe he was actually some godlike being who's technically not on anybody's side.

From there they were told to accept that lovable Wally was his brother! Twin brother even! He, as Red Tornado bluntly put it, replaced a child dead before birth in order to infiltrate the League. When Flash started to defend him, Wally stopped him.

"He's pretty much right Uncle B. That's exactly what happened. If this whole mess with Shiva, Kali and Vishnu never kicked off, once you retired, I would have become the next Flash." The red head shrugged, still in his adult form as Pollux.

"It makes you sound like you had plans to kill us all or something." Flash grumbled. Despite his defense, this still was unnerving, even to Barry. As much as he trusted his 'nephew' this form, Wally fast forwarded about 10 years, was a stark reminder of his deception. And yes, it did hurt. But he'd be damned if he was going to let the others see it.

"It's okay, really. I'm not offended. You all have every right to feel betrayed and suspicious; we lied to your faces for more than 15 years. All I can say is unlike Dr. Fate, our purpose was to strengthen the heroes of this world, not cripple and control."

"I for one am not at all comfortable with this." Hal Jordan frowned. "How can we trust any of you if you've hidden something this big from us. So far all we really know about any of you is you're not what we thought. I understand the whole balance thing but how do we know that's even true?"

"Do you have wax in your ears or did I miss some brain damage when I healed you? Pollux just said we don't really know what to tell you on that front. Castor almost died trying to protect you losers and I for one don't get why." Gabriel snarled, mimicking the Lantern's tone with the last sentence. The foreign dark mage may seem callous to most but he was just less of a bleeding heart than his sister. In his opinion any way. "If it were up to me, you'd all be shit out of luck. Now the enemy knows you're a weakness to the Zodiac Knights as all of them are somewhat attached to and not willing to sacrifice you."

"You're not exactly giving yourselves a ringing endorsement." Superman sighed. "While those of us who where in the cave are more in the know at the moment, it is still a little alarming to realize our lives have been manipulated almost from the start. Regardless of the reasons."

"I believe them." Wonder Woman said. This earned her everyone's attention. "There are stories thought to be fables of beings who allowed their identities to be obscured by the legends of many lands so that they may watch over all that has been and all that ever will be. There are those of you who believe that your God has a plan for the world that is not meant for man or woman to fully understand, how is this different? Besides what reason would they have for coming to our aide when they could have so easily destroyed us?"

"I don't know, maybe because that one delights in causing death and chaos? That he's proven himself less than rational?" Jordan pointed to Castor. He wasn't exactly pleased at her reference to monotheism either. Even if he wasn't a church on Sunday kind of guy, it rubbed him the wrong way.

"Oh boy." Castor grabbed Sylphine's hand when he saw his love's fingers twitch near her sash. She seemed to relax but continued to glare at the senior Green Lantern (in enlistment with the Corp, not age). He understood she was angry; he almost died and Jordan was being ungrateful as hell. However, one swipe of a pissed off Sylphine's tessen would end the man ring or no. Shiva and Kali had only been fucking with them; something the League didn't seem to get just yet. "I did do a good job of convincing them that I am Chaos personified. If it makes you feel any better, the Zodiac Knights are pretty much helpless in our other forms. Sure we have powers but they are a fraction of what we truly are capable of. We'd made a pact to do so in order to monitor things close up with out the possibility of affecting the world by accident."

"Cas went out on a limb for you. Do you really think their goal was to kill you? Duh, they could have blown up the Watchtower and been done with it. Their plot was to lure one of the Gemini here and isolate him. Unless they're touching they can't transform. It just happens they used those already here to kill time while they waited." Sylphine explained, a sharp edge in her voice. "And making sure you all met is hardly pulling your strings. If Auntie Gaia really wanted that she could have caused you all to get together when you first began crime fighting."

"So that's not what she did with the children? What you all did? And while we're on that subject, you were with the Light and allowed them to do as they pleased. Nearly 500 children with extraterrestrial, magical or metahuman ties have gone missing in the last 5 years because of them! Did you even try to stop them?" The sound of wings flexing was a clear indication of their owner's unrest. Hawkwoman was...upset to say the least. These creatures invaded the Watchtower then had the gaul to only heal the damage the wrought half way! Her husband was whole again yes but he lay unconcious next to Blue Beetle and the shell that was once their youngest member in the med bay. She wasn't too keen on the idea of Sagittarius being practically alone with Young Justice either.

Nothing they said made any sense to her. They were supposedly supremely powerful and so far had adhered to the popular notion of Gods; reckless beings that forced mortals to do their dirty work or toyed with them for their own amusement. They had manipulated their lives effortlessly for years but couldn't revived a child or even fully heal the injured among them? She should have predicted the response she'd get would not be to her liking. Or anyone else's for that matter.

"No." Castor said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "And that 500 is only the ones you know of. The actual number is much larger."

Silence settled over all present. Even those who had shown some sign of comprehension before were vacillating between confusion, anger and betrayal.

At times like this, why were dark mages so...grrr! Sylphine buried her face in her palms silently raging at the situation. Tactless, that's the word. Her brother was terrible at gauging how others might perceive his actions. Or he just didn't care, she wasn't too sure but strongly suspected the later. It seemed her match* was just as hopeless. Yes Cas, tell them you all just stood by why thousands of people suffered. The already angry and confused superheroes were sure to understand that it didn't make you evil at all. Right.

For affinity sake...

Pollux let out a long sigh and Gabriel looked completely oblivious to the mounting tension. In fact, the silvertop had wandered over to the observation window and was looking out at space. He gave no indication that he was even paying attention to the discussion at all.

"You've known...this whole time?" Flash drew in a breath, trying to keep himself together.

"Well, yeah." The red head looked away. "You don't understand. Until recently we didn't know that their 'silent partner' was Vishnu."

"Just how does that justify anything?" Jordan exploded.

"Don't yell at him mortal! Don't try to make him feel worse than he does already. I've have no problem restoring your injuries." Gabriel's eye burned a deep violet. "Shut the fuck up and listen!"

"We've been listening and all you've done is tell us a great many things that we don't understand." Aquaman snorted. "Now we learn that you knowingly let untold masses fall prey to the ones you swore to defend them from."

"He did not! Wally West pledged to uphold the law and protect the innocent. Klarion the Witchboy existed to cause havoc in the world. Pollux and Castor pledged to protect all of reality." Sylphine snapped. "It's not that you don't understand, I'm starting to think you either don't wanna or can't! You've got no idea what it's like to see the depths of depravity but not be able to do anything about it! We cannot directly get involved in anything unless the very universe is at stake. They bent the rules to nearly breaking to give you all a fighting chance!"

"The mere fact that either of their counterparts existed at all is proof that something has been going very wrong for a long time. You're all pissed. Boo-fucking-hoo. You try figuring out why your world is coming apart at the seams all the while praying to affinity you don't change events too much by just existing. Show of hands who knows what happens when the scale tips too far for too long to either light or dark? Know that little button inside the back panel of a cell phone you can only reach with a bent paperclip? Same deal idiots, it's called Cosmic Reset. One spontaneous big bang all over again. Who thinks they'll survive that?" Oh. Well, Gabriel was listening. He still faced away from the group, watching their reactions in the reflective surface. "Saving a few brats at the risk of unraveling all of creation? No way. This is your world, you share the responsibility of protecting it too."

"We can't do anything about what people in this world are doing to others unless it is affecting the balance. I had no idea Vishnu was using those kids for whatever, I only recently found out the Llght wasn't dealing with someone from this reality even though I was at the top. I'm pretty sure Bee didn't think she'd loose her head or Lex didn't know his brain was about to get new ventilation either. The others are who knows where.

You think it's cruel but the ability to choose drives life and sometimes, life's a bitch. By your logic, we should have stopped the every conflict in history anywhere and we totally could have. But where would that leave you all? The Kryptonians would have had no need to send you here because your planet would be in one piece. Your parents would be alive and well but much of Wayne Enterprises wouldn't exist, many of it's innovations wouldn't either. Your inspiration for the becoming the Flash, Jay, would have had no desire to honor a father that fought and died in WWI because it didn't happen. You'd still be the same spoiled brat that never grew up and found out it's not always about fun. The king of Atlantis when you were born would have declared you a miracle not a curse, raising you as his own. There'd be no tension on Mars between the two races. Your history would be a complete joke; the myths of ancient Greece would be terribly boring and you'd probably be hair braiding with your ladies in waiting right now. Parallax would never have existed and neither would the Lantern Corp because there'd be nothing to defend against. So you certainly wouldn't have been recriuted either. Without that vengeful sorcerer, your souls wouldn't be hopscotching across time space forever. The woman who raised you to be the man you are wouldn't have existed because her ancestors would never have been forced from Africa in to slavery." Pollux pointed to each of the A-Listers, citing the events and traits that made them who they were today. "That's assuming there'd be a world as you all knew it now at all."

Some were angry that he knew anything so personal. It was clearly an invasion of privacy! There was no telling what else he knew about them but...

/Where would that leave all of you?/

A couple of those alternatives seemed wonderful. Happy families, no weight of the would on their shoulders. A world without war or strife seemed like a dream. It's what they were working for now wasn't it? How bad could it be if they weren't needed? A world without heroes or villains. A Utopian existence. Still, something about that notion nagged at them and weighed heavier than they would like to admit. It'd be a good thing, so why did it inspire such foreboding?

"Because it should. Yes, we can hear your thoughts when you think them that loudly. I said it to a fruitloop obsessed with controlling another world and I'll say it to this world's greatest defenders too. Free will makes the world go 'round. It's why utopias never rise and empires always fall." Sylphine wrapped her arms around herself and leaned into Castor. "We never took away your ability to decide for yourselves. It's not easy watching people screw themselves and others over but no one person or group regardless of intentions has the right to impose their will on everyone else. "

"And you all aren't?" Jordan remained distrusting but didn't seem quite as sure of his reasons. The uncertainty carried in his voice.

"Hmm. He asked the same thing." She smiled fondly, thinking of the deranged shell one of her cousins had been trapped in. That she helped create but ultimately helped save to restore order to Uncle Ebedi's crumbling reality in the end. So, she'd give the Lantern the same answer. "Mr. Jordan, whatever gave you the notion that we are merely persons?"

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Everything hurt so much. His head was ringing like a million bells had gone off inside it. His body felt like it was weighted down underwater but he wasn't wet. A soft bed with nice silky sheets met his back. His eyes slowly opened and he came face to face with a pretty lady with brown hair, chocolaty skin and bright blue eyes.

/Where am I?.. Who..?/

"Oh little brother! You're awake!" She exclaimed surging forward to hug him. Over her shoulder, he saw another lady exactly like her but with red instead of blue eyes. Her face was streaked with tears but still smiling. Holding her shoulder was a very large man with deep blue skin. And four arms. He too was smiling.

Something in his mind tried to tell him he should be afraid. That these people were strangers, bad people who would harm him. Especially that man, they all just felt...wrong. But it was silenced by an intense wave of warmth that washed over every fiber of his being. A sense of belonging and family love. They all cared deeply for him. Where he had been before was dark painful and covered in red. Here was bright...safe.

"How do you feel?" The man walked forward and knelt by the bed. The two mirror images sat on either side of the bed, each taking a hand and squeezing it lightly with looks of concern etched on their faces.

"I don't know...who are you? Who am I?" He tilted his head in confusion, long inky locks spilling on to the sheets. He looked down as they partially covered his tiny hands.

"These are your elder sisters, Shiva held you when you awoke. Kali came over with me. And I am your father, Vishnu. Welcome to the world, my dear son, Krishna." One large blue hand rested on his head gently. Another held out a long, bright rainbow colored flute. "Happy birthday my child."

"Thank you, father." Pale hands reached for it. The instant the instrument made contact with his skin, Krishna felt...complete.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

One guess who that really is; turns out Pollux was wrong, Vishnu appears to be very good at math. The servants and Young Justice's conversations will be in the next chapter. Whatcha think so far; how are they character portrayls? Read and review peoples. Sirensoundwave out!

*match what Chaos Mages call their lovers; basically husband/wife


	23. Leave Out All The Rest

Hey. This chapter explains what the teens and other mages are doing when the previous chapter took place. We also see how Epsilon came to be...and Artemis isn't gonna like it one bit. This chapter was hard to name so I compromised. You'll see what I mean as you read. Linkin Park's Leave Out All The Rest beat out Nickleback's If Today Was You Last Day to be the title.

Plot and anything you don't recognize, mine. Everything else belongs to their respective creators/writers/artists. There are too many to list. Just know I make no profit off of this and shut up about it...m'kay?

Chapter 23

Leave out All the Rest

"So...Your mother is really Poison Ivy..." Megan tried to break the silence. They'd all pretty much been staring at each other since the adults and four of the Mages left for the Watchtower. Virgo had remained with Zatara, Green Arrow waiting by her side. Epsilon was running around with Wolf and Sphere. Sagittarius had taken Artemis aside. So that left only Pisces to actually talk to the teens.

"Welcome to the club as they say." Kaldur sighed. "Though as I understand it, your mother is not truly evil."

"No. I believe the others explained that we are on no side, that our job is to make sure things continued on and yours to decide the way the world is. I became what I am because I wanted my son to live the life denied him so long ago." She smiled sadly.

"What does that mean?" Raquel asked.

"I used to live in what is now Wales more than a thousand years ago but... I died, was murdered by my father because I was different. I really don't want to talk about it right now." Robin looked away. "I've had those same abilities since I was little in this life but I was so afraid of what might happen if anyone found out I sorta suppressed them to the point where I doubted the were even real. Kinda an echo of the past I guess."

"So...we all have powers now? I mean, we've all gotten new or stronger ones since all this started with Dr. Fate right?" Zatanna looked around at her team mates. "My spells pack way more of a punch since I found the dagger. I Was even able to knock Nabu around inside KSK."

" I now have a name for those surges of power I have fought to keep at bay. I inherited my mother's Inner Torrent and understand it is not to be feared. I just need to learn how to control it properly." Kaldur nodded. "Suppressing emotions only doubles the force with which they struggle to be free."

"I'm starting to think that I was supposed to end up like this. When I accepted that the belt was apart of me and didn't make me a freak, my attacks did get stronger and I learned I might be able to do other things too." Raquel took hold of his hand and smiled sheepishly. "I tried to teleport once. Got stuck in a ventilation shaft and was too embarrassed to try again. Or tell anyone."

"Sometimes I have dreams that come true. I thought it was a fluke at first then Sagittarius showed up and I realized that strange nightmare was a vision of what could have been if I went with Superman at the beginning of the year when he invited me to train. I saw this too but...I was scared to tell anyone. How could I be sure it wasn't more CADMUS programing that Manhunter missed? My telekinesis is extending beyond field around my body that mimics real Kryptionian strength. If I really try, I can sorta levitate. What if Superman thought it made me even more dangerous?" Superboy's admission was met with shock.

"I knew." Megan smiled at him. "I think our connection has strengthened my abilities too and our dreams started to bleed together. I've noticed I can maintain the mental link up over greater distances. Sometimes to get out of class for emergencies, I've been able to shift into a male teacher or student. I haven't really tested it beyond that though, I was scared too. "

"As best I can tell, I have precognition limited to a few hours in the future at most and the power to affect chance. Some others I think but I need help to master them." Robin added.

"So we all have something new. What about Artemis?" Raquel asked

What about her indeed.

Across the room, the two archers were talking as they watched Epsilon run around.

"Does Epsilon remind you of anyone?" Sagittarius asked. "Look closely."

She stared hard at the rambunctious child...no...wait.

"He looks like my sister..." She thought aloud.

"Because he is, technically, her."

"What did you do to her?!" She whipped around, a look of anger on her face.

"We made a deal. If you must be angry at someone, blame Sportsmaster; he did allow me to reveal myself to her sooner than I expected to. Let me show you."

_*Flashback. Nearly 3 and a half years ago.*_

_She'd only been following orders. According to her father, the higher ups wanted the real Harper moved to the more secured facility up north; the same one where Project Kr was being created. What she didn't know was this particular road was booby trapped. The truck she was driving went over an IED and flipped. Now she was pinned by several tons of metal with only her left arm and head free. She couldn't feel any pain and that was a bad sign. It meant she couldn't move even if the vehicle wasn't there. She could clearly see the pool of red growing though._

_Shit._

_"Like mother like daughter." she mumbled._

_"I can help you Jade."_

_She turned her head to the rear of the truck to see the kid she'd been transporting standing there. The crash must have broken the tube. He was even still wearing that stupid yellow hat. Lucky lil' bastard._

_"Tch. You better run while you can. I'm trapped and too injured for first aid anyhow kid. I'll bleed out in a few minutes."_

_"Three actually but that's not the point. What would you be willing to do to avenge yourself? Your mother? Artemis?" Roy began to unwrap the bandage on stump where his left hand had been._

_"How do you know about them?" If she weren't in her current position, she would have hit him for trying to intimidate her._

_"The same way I know that your loving father sent you on a path he knew was riddled with explosives. He can't control you anymore Jade and your willfulness can't be tolerated. Just like he couldn't tolerate your mother's decision to leave him and go straight. He only had to wait a few more years and biology would have solved his problem with you though." The teen shrugged. Cheshire's eyes went wide as she watched the shadows wrap around the gory end of his arm...and produce a hand as good as new that he flexed for a while then knelt beside her._

_"What the hell are you? I must be loosing blood and halluc-"_

_"You don't have time for that. I am what is known as a Chaos Mage named Sagittarius and can only reveal myself to the dead or dying. You have a choice; to die now or in 3 to 4 years time when your aorta explodes in your chest."_

_"..."_

_"Of course you didn't know about the disease eating away at your major blood vessels. So I ask you, if today was your last day and tomorrow was too late, would you be willing to make your mark and mend a broken heart?"_

_"What are you talking about? I'm dying and you're talking in riddles!" She huffed in annoyance._

_"You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars, no matter who you are Jade. Are you willing to do whatever it takes? I can help you but nothing comes without a price."_

_Jade stared at him before thinking about what he said. Tonight had been so confusing, she knew that her father was angry at her but...At any rate, if she dies, there's no one to look after Artemis. Sure she wasn't gonna win big sister of the year but she did check on her from time to time to make sure she was mostly okay. The sweet innocent sibling she left behind had died; replaced by a guarded young assassin to be and it was all her fault. She'd left her with that monster because she wanted to save herself. The only reason she came to work for him now was because she'd get to see the blond every once and a while. Even if Artemis didn't see her._

_"What do you want then?"_

_"Your soul."_

_"A deal with the devil huh? Figures. So you get my soul, what do I get?" Not like she was going anywhere, why not find out. So what if he was probably kidding.?So what if it was probably something her oxygen starved brain was making up?_

_"I'm not kidding Cheshire. You get the chance to save your sister. I will show her away out of this life and give her the means to defend herself in the future. She is more important to the future of this world than you realize. If you say no, I can still protect her but not as well as I could have and she will suffer more than she has to. It's your choice." He frowned at her. "If you say yes, you will belong to me, even after your mortal body dies in a few years. When I have a task for you, you will complete it. No matter what."_

_"Hnn. You can really help lil' Alice?"_

_"Make sure she finds her way out of the rabbit hole? Sure. But if you say yes to me, you won't remember this deal. Not until you are supposed to die." He held out his hand and she stared at it warily. "The hands of time aren't on your side, choose quickly."_

_"Fine. What choice do I really have?" She took the outstretched hand and he smiled mischievously at her._

_"There's always a choice, and you've made yours. My dear Epsilon."_

_Before she could question him, she felt pain shooting through her entire body. She screamed as something in her shifted...and shrank. Then everything went black. _

_She had no idea the truck had been righted, the mines cleared and a teenage girl that looked exactly like her was now driving it; still carrying "Roy Harper" in his stasis tube, missing arm and all. In the dust left behind, stood two figures cloaked in black, one much shorter than the other. The tallest nodded and the little one caused a dark portal to appear under their feet, swallowing them up._

_*end*_

"You bastard...you used her!" Artemis screamed, gaining everyone's attention.

"She got what she wanted. I made sure you got up the courage to runaway and Epsilon kept Sportsmaster busy long enough to loose your trail. I even put you on the league's radar." Sagittarius raised a brow. "How exactly did I use her?"

"So my being molested was supposed to happen?" She shouted, clearly outraged. Now everyone was looking at the two of them. "You could have stopped him from...and you didn't!"

"It could have been worse."

"Worse?! Just because I didn't let him get in my pants it's okay?! You heartless son of a bitch!" A faint glow outlined the angry young woman, glowing brighter with each word she screamed.

"Perhaps I should have told her, then activated her gift after she calmed down...Not my brightest strategy. Dammit." He muttered as he dodged arrows of white light that seemed to come from her new aura.

"Well that answers your question." Pisces chuckled as she watched the neutral mage artfully dodge the assault.

"HOLD STILL!" she roared, slashing at him with a spear of the same light. The reason he wanted not to get hit was simple, it would hurt. A lot. Mortal weapons were useless against Mages but these were projections of the will and could damage him.

She'd always been a very strong willed person, all he did was allow her to project it without an amplifier that needed to be recharged or could be lost. Like a lantern ring. This was meant to give her the means to fight for her world should it come down to it and thus had to be able to hurt one of the Mages if necessary.

"Stop being mean!" Epsilon yelled and Artemis found the boy had gotten between the two of them. "Don't be mean to my master!"

"Ja- Epsilon, move! He let me suffer, he took away your life-"

"No, he didn't! He made me! I don't know why you're mad but he's so nice to me. He lets me stay up as late as I want and if I'm good we go out for sweets and icecream! I get to do all sorts of cool things! Why are you so mad?" The small boy cocked his head to the side and look up at her with big sad eyes. Why was she mad? Oh yeah, she'd been through hell while her older sister gave up her soul to be this...thing's puppet. Of course she was pissed.

Then it hit her.

Epsilon doesn't know either. He doesn't know that he's really a grown woman that gave up her soul. To protect her. Her. Jade never abandoned her, not fully. She'd even come back to work for their father just for the chance to see her again. She knew that she'd damned her little sister to the same life she lead and tried to make amends for it. She did not want to die knowing she could have made things right. Even if Artemis never knew it. Now that conversation the night before Santa Prisca and her actions on the island made sense.

_*flashback*_

_The two of them met at top a roof in Star City, hidden behind a toothpaste billboard at 2am. Her criminal family was still under the impression that she was a spy for them within the League. Cheshire had called her there, outside of their father's orders, but why?_

_"When I'm gone Artie, promise me you'll live your life the way you want. No more of this double agent crap." Cheshire said out of the blue. It had been silent for sometime, only the sounds of the streets below them were audible._

_"What are you taking about? With your skills I doubt you'll be pushing up daisies anytime soon." Artemis chuckled. The smile faded when she Jade slid her mask up. Her expression was so sad. Artemis had never seen her sister look like that, about to cry. She turned, eyes set in a defiant gaze trying to keep tears for falling._

_"Each day you live is not a given right sis. You don't get to live your life twice cuz there are no second tries. You have a good thing going for you. Don't fuck it up."_

_And then Artemis was standing alone, in her civvies, on a roof. What was that all about?_

_*End*_

"She knows now doesn't she?" Artemis whispered, unsuccessfully trying to keep her voice from breaking. Her cheeks were tracked with wet streaks before the memory ended. The spear and her aura faded away.

"That she will die soon, yes. I can't change that, all I could do was make sure she left behind some reasons to be missed. That the good things about her remained in your memories and you didn't resent her for her choices."

"That I left out all the rest...you stupid bitch! Why didn't you just leave?"

"Jade knew she couldn't be who you are Alice; able stand on your own and tell destiny to kiss your ass ."

She didn't remember falling to the ground or exactly when the little boy who was and wasn't her sister wrapped his arms around her. All she knew was she was crying into his thick hair just like she had done so long ago, when the ages were reversed.

Sagittarius has given Jade something too in the deal. The innocence she lost as a child, re-birthing her as Epsilon.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

So there you have it. No, calling Artie "Alice" is not a typo. Cheshire isn't such a bad girl after all. I intend to explain how Virgo was born at some point but not yet. Up next, the world reacts to the on air murders. The League and the Mages realize they must join forces but it's are far from a calm before the storm.

What do you think? If you've ever heard the two songs I had to chose from, you'll see how I compromised. Let me know guys, reviews are awesome :-D! Stay tuned, Sirensoundwave out.


	24. Frontline

Hello all. This chapter deals with a few loose ends. Remember, the events from chapters titled Kick in the Teeth (4) up til now have all occurred within the same 6-12 hour time frame; not accounting for flashbacks. After this chapter, the times between events will move beyond the current day; which is June 15th if I haven't already mentioned it. It has been brought to my attention that the order of events is confusing because no actual dates are mentioned and I agree. There's a lot that happens in a nebulous past. So, here's a quick timeline to recap of things that matter to this story (canon be damned). Some dates are arbitrary, some have to occur within a certain time and others have exact days.

The year 2008

'Roy" is cloned

Cheshire (Jade) sells her soul to Sagittarius

The Year 2009

Robin goes after Zucco, nearly kills Batman but apparently doesn't remember exactly what happened

Artemis runs away from Sportsmaster; ends up in the foster care system until her mother is released at the end of the year.

Oct 2010  
Icon and Rocket consider membership with the League and Young Justice after Ivy's plants but have not been offered yet

November 2010

Icon is officially considered but is originally against it

Rocket 'dies' and is brought back to life with her Inertia Belt and Icon's DNA permanently fused to her (is not revealed to the rest of the JLA until March)

Lenora Ervin is told of Rocket's extracurriculars; and bashes Icon's skull in before telling him how proud she is of her niece and giving her approval of Rocket's choices.

Dec 2010  
Icon and Rocket join their teams

Dec. 31 2010- Jan 1 2011  
Starotech incident

Jan 2  
Superboy refuses Superman's offer after the nightmare/vision the previous night (Which spans Jan 2 til about March 21)

Jan 10-16

About the time Zatanna leaves for Europe and finds the dagger of Hecate

The others begin to use the KSK MMORPG; Robin volunteers to pay for their subscriptions

Kaldur begins living on land full time

Jan 20-29

Dr Fate notifies those with protege's of his suspicions but tells them he needs to observe more

The Locator Program is first initiated. This is when the League notices the similarities between some of the missing kids.

Feburary 23-29

Robin tests his DNA and finds he is not a meta

Zatanna returns to the cave

Batman hacks KSK

March (pretty much all around the same time)

Robin and Zatanna try to date then break up over her cutting; she is taken off of active duty

Artemis and Wally begin arguing about him spacing out (originally thought to be the speed force by Fate)

Wally and Robin fight and injure each other

Batman shares the team's access codes and programs to monitor them in game with their mentors

Kaldur begins to double his efforts to keep unexplained power surges at bay

M'gann tries to run away; she and J'onn talk about her origins and accepts her as his niece despite her race

'Roy' attempts suicide (It's really one of Sagittarius' dolls); goes into rehab

Sagittarius kidnaps Lois; Lois goes ballistic when she learns of Connor's treatment

(In his Vision) Superboy changes his KSK avatar to mimic Ultraman and kills Superman's avatar

Dr. Fate presents his findings (Clark realizes Superboy has developed psychic abilities); at the same time the Zodiac Knights discuss their progress and we learn OceanMaster is dead;

Aquaman begins to doubt his choice to hide Kaldur'um's origins

Zatanna makes her character; begins working with Black Canary who temporarily moves into the cave with her.

April-May

The League begins to scale back on the missions YJ goes on.

The league's observations border on 'Big Brother' control

Green Arrow and Batman clash over Artemis almost being taken by the Mad Hatter and Arrow 'handling' it.

Zatanna begins to make progress one on one therapy with Black Canary; Talks to Castor in game then goes battle royale on Dr. Fate inside KSK and almost kills him

The team begins to investigate on their own the sudden lack of trust from the JLA

June

Classes wind down

The seeds of Operation Hookey are sown when the team is denied unsupervised time at the Happy Harbor High Summer Festival

June 15

The team implements Operation Hookey

All hell breaks loose

Let me know if there's anything I left out.

Okay, we get to see how the world took the on air murders of the CEO of one of the world's largest companies and the Queen of the world's most brutal dictatorship. We also learn about what the remaining members of the Light are up to now that they are running scared. The mages and the league continue to clash and Young Justice realizes they are more equipped to be on the frontlines than their mentors. Fittingly, Frontline by Pillar is our soundtrack.

Let's do this.

Chapter 24 Frontline

The world below the Watchtower had erupted into mass hysteria.

The airwaves were awash with conspiracy theorists. Some were saying how these new threats were a direct result of the Justice League. That all of the major villains in the world were only an issue after these so called heroes emerged and that the cycle would only escalate. Villains would continue to up the ante in an effort to best them. Others claimed that the movement known as the Light was simply a challenge to the JLA status as 'benevolent overlords' and had grown desperate enough to align with such unpredictable people in an effort to restore the natural order of the world. Still others accused the League of fabricating the whole scenario to justify their continued presence.

There were some on the heroes' side. It was argued that the need for superheroes arose when it became very clear that the nations of the world could not deal with the scale to which criminals and their resources had risen. Some criminals weren't exactly that bad. The Rogues of Central city had adopted a No Kill Policy while other super villains killed for the sheer joy of it. Captain Cold was even known to assist the CFD with large fires.

Attempts to control or subvert the hero populous have all met with disastrous consequences. Most notably, the attempts by the now defunct CADMUS to clone Superman on more than one occasion and the horrific Blockbuster incident. The one time Batman was forced to step back from crime fighting, Gotham was nearly destroyed. And everyone agreed that if not for a unified and capable force such as the JLA, threats from beyond the stars would rolled over the planet with ease.

Let's not forget that fear and ostracizing because of what made them different was a common banner villain rallied behind. We ought to be grateful that individuals as powerful as the Green Lanterns, the Hawk family, Wonder Woman and alike actually gave a damn about what's right and not how people treated them.

Freedom fighters, rebel factions and neighboring countries were sure to clash in the anarchy following the death of Queen Bee. She had never named anyone as second in command; not even Pysmon, her most loyal henchman. Much of her army had been under compulsion from either her thrall or Psymon's hypnosis. So, when she died, many soldiers threw down their guns and ran for the hills. Or joined up with one of the other sides. Those that remained were mindless zombies that had had their psyches destroyed. The poor souls were just living puppets without a puppeteer now. Even more tragic, the Logan family's reserve had been destroyed. It had been a battleground between Bialyan and Quraci forces shortly before the broadcast. Their whereabouts were unknown.

Luthor Corp was in shambles. Even the board of directors had no idea what to do. Despite their CEO's track record, most were in the dark about the true workings of the company. A few distraught souls were seen swan diving from windows in the building. Defensive driving during rush hour in Metropolis took on a whole new meaning as cars were forced to avoid the bodies raining down on the streets.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

In a hidden location, the remaining five members of the Light were at an impasse. They had gathered for a meeting to take place after their mysterious benefactor was revealed to the world but were unsure what to do now. Well, four were. One wasn't even who they thought he was. To be fair, he wasn't about 60% of the time they'd had contact since recruiting him.

Teekl was bored out of her skull. Her master's last instructions were simply to appear as in the dark as the rest of them, while remaining in character as a Lord of Chaos. Complete disinterest wasn't that far off the mark. So that's what she went with.

"You seem quite calm despite recent development Klarion." Black Manta frowned.

"Why should I be worried? I'm not a flimsy mortal." 'Klarion' snapped. "I'm a force of nature Manta, I can't die. Duh."

"Still, you seem not the least bit concerned. There are fates worse than death witchboy." Al Ghul pressed. The man never did like Klarion and it was no secret. As far as he was concerned, there was something off about the child of chaos. He strongly suspected him of being the cause of several of the Light's setbacks. Still without proof or at least having that fleabag of his in his grasp, he had kept silent. He didn't trust any of his partners as far as he could throw them but Klarion was at the bottom of his list.

"If you have something to say, go ahead and say it you walking corpse. It's not like you to beat around the bush."

"Gentleman, I doubt this useless squabbling will address the matter at hand. With Queen Bee and Lex Luthor dead, many of our plans are in jeopardy. Furthermore, we have just learned that much of the work we have put in the last 5 years have been for nought." The Brain interjected.

"I suggest we part ways. There is no shame in a strategic retreat when the odds are so...unfavorable." Savage suggested.

The remaining members considered this. Staying here was sure to invite the wrath of this new enemy. They were also loath to admit that the supposed masters of deception and subterfuge had been played like a fiddle. While they had been arguing, Teekl had received more orders from her master.

/Black Manta's knowledge of Lady Lyun'ua's abilities may prove useful. After all he had intended to use her for them until he fell in love with the woman. We may need the other idiots at some point in the future as well. Detain them anyway you please, secrecy is moot now./ Castor spoke to her through their bond.

"What are you smiling about?" Al Ghul hissed. 'Klarion' was positively beaming.

"I don't have to sit here and listen to this crap anymore. And neither do you."

She gave them no time to retort. With a snap of her fingers, Teekl was in her feline form again; alone in an empty room. Around her neck was a new collar. Sporting 4 black gem studs that pulsed briefly before she vanished in a flash of red.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

In the cave, the tension had eased some now that everyone was being open and honest about their experiences in the last few months or years for some. They were now discussing what their new abilities mean in terms of the upcoming war.

"You guys, this is more than just a bunch of coincidences. The Zodiac Knights have been trying to prepare us for something big." Robin said.

"I guess, but why not just come right out and say it? Look at all the time wasted when we could have been learning to control these powers? I mean, I just got mine but most of you have had them for a while and been totally in the dark." Artemis crossed her arms. She was still angry at Sagittarius. He'd gotten her sister to trade her soul for his half assed help. Then as Red Arrow, he'd done his damnedest to get everyone to believe she was the mole, when the whole time it was him. Regardless of his reasons, those wounds were still fresh and would take more than the 'for the greater good' spiel to smooth things over.

"The Chaos Mages are not meant to be known about. At least for the most part. While I am upset at how things turned out, I do understand that they were duty bound to act as they have." Kaldur sighed. "We will just have to accept that they did all they could to help us. Remember, Dr. Fate could have been a valuable asset to the situation. He knew well in advance but chose to be petty instead of warning anyone."

"And now he's a living Barbie doll. So, what now? We don't even know the extent of these new abilities. Forget controlling them." Raquel stretched.

"Well, for stater-" Connor had started to speak but stopped mid-sentence. He was frozen in the process of taking a step toward the couch like a mannequin.

"Yo, SB, you in there?" Robin waved a hand in front of his face. The Boy of Steel's eyes turned a milky white. "Whoa..."

"Ahh!" Megan clutched her head before going limp, falling right into a confused Kaldur's arms.

"I know that look." Pisces smiled. "He's having a vision and Megan's gotten sucked into it as well. We're gonna have to wait until it's over kiddies. Might as well get comfy."

*Inside the Vison*

"Not this again." Connor grumbled. Many of his psychic experiences began this way. He was standing in a thick fog that went on forever. Any minute, he expected it to disperse and show him some random event occurring sometime in the future. That may or may not actually happen. It sucked.

"Connor what is this place?" Megan asked cautiously. Okay, that was new. Usually she knew something about these visions but this was the first time she'd been literally dragged into one. Then again, they usually happened when he was asleep so...

"It's where I go when I have those dreams. I'm not sure why you're here this time but I have a really bad feeling about this." He pulled her close as the fog lifted and they found themselves standing in the Watchtower with the League and the other Chaos Mages. They were involved in a heated argument.

/We don't need your help! You've been too busy watching us twist in the wind to actually do anything before!/ Hal Jordan barked.

/Do you have alzheimer's or something?! They were just fucking with you before! You just gotten beaten to a pulp and they weren't even trying!/ Gabriel snorted. /We saved your asses!/

/Oh yes. You showed up after the slaughter. How convenient for all knowing beings. I don't believe you're really trying to help us at all. This is some sort of amusement for you isn't it?/ Hawkwoman stood beside the Lantern. /Just sit back and watch the mortals panic./

/What part of non-interference do you not get? You wanna blame someone for inaction? Blame Nabu. He knew this whole time and there wasn't a damned thing preventing him from spilling the beans other than his ego!/ Castor countered. /We've only been trying to keep the universe from coming apart at the seams. So sorry that doesn't seem like a priority to you./

/Fighting isn't going to solve this. It doesn't matter that you don't understand our methods. Right now we are the best hope you have of living through this. You don't have a choice but to work with us./ Sylphine reasoned.

/Is that a threat?/ Booster Gold, who had previously been at Blue Beetle's bedside, narrowed his eyes at the fey woman. His usual carefree attitude was gone. /I don't care who you are. You have no right to toy with our lives like this. If you're so fucking powerful, why are Blue and Hawkman in comas? Why is Captain Marvel's soul missing? Why did the whole world just see two people murdered on live TV; so what if they were the scum of the earth? Why is any of this shit happening when you had the power to prevent it?!/

/Chill out! We've been going over this for almost an hour. It's obvious both sides are having trouble accepting the facts./ Pollux threw his arms up.

/We need to come to some sort of agreement soon. I doubt Vishnu is going to wait around for us to get our act together./ Batman interjected.

/Screaming like children isn't getting us closer to a plan of action./ John Stewart received a glare from his fellow lantern but ignored it.

/I believe this is what he is counting on. Dissension in the ranks and confusion will make us easier to destroy./ Manhunter spoke up.

/I don't care who did what when. Right now, I'm going with the information I have, not a bunch of mumbo jumbo about destiny and higher powers./ Mr. Terrific took up his usual position at the communications hub though he moved with a limp. /I'm going to do my job, let me know when you all get your heads out of the sand and I'll gladly help when you come to your senses./ With that, his spheres went to work as scanning the airwaves and calculating risk. He pointedly ignored the looks of shock directed at him.

/You're going to take that faithless stance now? When we have Gods actually before us?/ Wonder Woman balked.

/Faithless? They've proven they aren't almighty deities Diana. Let it go./ Hawkwoman scoffed.

/As an AI, such concepts elude me. Still, I agree with Mr. Terrific./ Red Tornado said.

The argument only escalated from there. Everyone voiced their opinions from religious and practical standpoints. The voices all blended together as the scene faded. And gave way to a far more distressing one.

"Oh no!" Megan shrieked and hid her face in Connor's chest.

They were standing on Earth. In D.C. if the sight of the Washington monument lying in pieces scattered about the Mall was any indication. The ground was littered with corpses. Many badly were mangled or too charred to be identified. None of the ones that were relatively intact looked like soldiers. These were civilians caught in the crossfire.

"This is what we have to look forward to? Holy shit!" Connor had seen the familiar S shield near the ruins of the WWII memorial and ran to where his 'father' lay. When he got there, he threw up immediately. The man of Steel's torso was the only thing there. His head and limbs were floating in the now crimson reflecting pool in front of the destroyed monument. Many other league members were scattered about the area and clearly dead. The sight and smell was so overpowering that he almost didn't see that his team and the Mages stood defiantly before Shiva, Kali, Vishunu and a new boy twirling a flute. Behind them an army of figures that were shadowed but burning red eyes were clearly seen.

/Your world is ours young ones. Submit and we will allow you to live./ Vishnu laughed.

/No way! Eyah!/ Artemis threw a spear of white light at him and it pierced the hand that tried to knock it away and lit it on fire. He looked at the smoldering appendage in shock. His children looked murderous.

/How dare you!/ The boy yelled.

/The Chaos Mages of several realms might be evenly matched./ Zatanna's eyes glowed a deep violet as her hair fanned out around her like a halo.

/But this is our world and we are the only ones who get to decide how it's ruled!/ Robin was bathed in a black aura that formed translucent wings around him.

/And your terror ends here!/ Kaldur's markings lit up like a christmas tree.

/Impossible! Mortals are not fit to stand against us!/ Shiva growled, spear at the ready.

/We are when you are not fit to exist in this world!/ Superboy yelled from the air. His vision counterpart was actually flying! He could see Miss Martian creating doubles of herself and Rocket forming a riot shield and battle axe with the energy generated by her belt.

/You won't be satisfied with just this world Vishnu./ A voice Connor had never heard before called from behind the heros. It was an older male voice from the deep tone.

/And we'll be damned if we let you reach ours!/ A younger male voice sounded, closer to that of a teenager. Veiled in shadows were six others he couldn't identify. Three males and three females. He could make out the glint of a sword and a sickle but no faces.

In the foreground, Sylphine stood with her tessens drawn. Gabriel with his massive parasol. Sagittarius drew his bow. The Gemini's chain glowed a hot golden color. Pisces was surrounded by hundreds of mirrors and musical notes appeared when Virgo struck her harp. Even Epsilon brandished a deadly looking set of sai. Suddenly both sides of the field surged forward.

The scene exploded in bright lights before contact was made and he found himself looking at his worried team mates back in the cave. He stood there gasping for breath as Megan shot up drenched in sweat.

"What did you see?" Sagittarius asked.

"The world in ruins and the League all dead." Megan sobbed.

"WHAT!?" everyone yelled.

"It doesn't have to be that way. I understand why things happened the way they have. If the adults go up against Vishnu, they are going to get slaughtered; they don't have the power to fight him. But we do. Our experiences have been preparing us, they told us already. It's us. We are the ones who are supposed to fight along side the Knights when the time comes." Connor shook his head to clear the fuzzy feeling in his skull. "We were all there. So were the mages. There's another Chaos Mage with Vishnu, a little boy. They had a whole army behind them. But there were six people on our side I don't know."

"How do we fight something like that? We don't even understand what we can do." Zatanna sat down beside Megan and rubbed her temples.

"Yes you do." Pisces spoke forcefully. "You have all you need to fight for this world. Just believe in yourselves."

"We already do." Epsilon smiled up at Artemis. "You guys won't be alone, we'll be there too!" The thought of such a small child in the middle of that made the blonde archer feel sick to her stomach; even if he wasn't really an innocent boy.

"And who are these other people with us?" Robin thought aloud. "Mam?"

"They are other Chaos Mages, from Lord Ebedi's realm I think. Vishnu won't stop at conquering this world. He will try to do the same to others if he can. They recently recovered from a course of events that almost lead to a cosmic reset. Their world might be weak enough to tempt Vishnu." The red head sighed. "I know it sounds cruel, but you really are the only ones who can stand on the frontlines of this battle with even a hope of victory."

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

And there we have it, the Mages from 'The Road to Hell' make an appearance in Connor's vision. They still won't really show up for some time but now you see how and why they fit into this story. The argument at the Watchtower really is going on at the same time but now Connor knows that his visions are far from set in stone. It's up to the kids to save the day. Review and stay tuned. Sirensoundwave out.


	25. Land of Confusion

****

Here's chapter 25.

**Geek Alert:**  
I feel it is important to note Billy Baston and Captain Marvel are not the same person. Technically. He's also a teen not a ten year old boy. It's one of those things that varies depending on what multiverse you're looking at as this character has be retconned over and over (don't get me started on Elseworlds...). There are well over 52 'verses' and many heroes exist in only one or two or have died in others though many verses are um...kinda not used much (I'm not sure how to explain it really. DC has been publishing since 1934 guys..). As far as I can tell, the version of Earth-16 used for YJ animated portrays him as a little boy who transforms into an adult version of HIMSELF, but only physically. His uncle Ebenezer actually gives a rat's ass about him (Yay! Most of the time Billy's a street kid) and the Marvel Family doesn't exist. Though I wonder where his sister Mary is...

Also, I have had people ask me about Superboy's powers. This chapter will answer some of those questions but for the main one 'since when does he have any powers other than strength, durability, super senses, x-ray vision and leaping?' Go yell at Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for their adaptation. It's just the way they made him for the show and they kinda breezed over the explanation of his tactile telekinesis. A lot of people just think being a hybrid means he just has some of Superman's powers. I don't really have a problem with their version of YJ because it opens up new possibilities. Really there's a LOT of crap wrong if you wanna stick to the original comic series (yes, there is a new one following the version on Cartoon Network) besides Superboy' lack of powers (for example they pulled Artemis out of their ass by retooling a villain'; used the wrong version of Kid Flash, should be Impulse; wrong Robin, should be Red Robin; who realizes Mal Duncan in season 2 is supposed to be Herald/Vox?; etc). The only one so far I made up is his precognition and to be honest I'm not even sure about that. Despite my rants, I have not read every comic.  
**End Geek Alert.**

The soundtrack is one of the few songs I love the original and cover of (both videos too; those puppets are uber creepy, Todd MacFarlane is a wicked artist and both are totally relevant today ;-P ). Genesis/Disturbed leads the way with Land of Confusion.

Plot and OC's mine. That's it. No profit.

Chapter 25  
Land of confusion

There hadn't been a single event in three weeks. Twenty one fucking days. Needless to say, both sides were going a little stir crazy. One from not knowing what to expect. The other, for not doing anything at all.

"Father, what are we waiting for?" Shiva huffed. She, Kali and their newly born brother were in their father's throne room glaring at him. Actually, Krishna was occupied by twirling his flute, not really paying attention. He didn't mind the lull in activity. He was learning to control his powers and having fun. Enjoying the praise his father gave him when he made silly mortals his puppets, destroyed obstacles on purpose and created things with the songs he played. Or demonstrated that he had good control of his loyal servant. The one with the nice blue eyes.

"Patience daughter. Krishna is young with much to learn. As it stands now, he is in danger should he face the likes of Aurii or Gaia's children so soon." Vishnu chuckled.

"Eep!" That caught the boy's attention and he nearly dropped the instrument. "I'm sorry...I'll get strong faster! I promise!"

"Don't worry. We'll teach you little one." Kali cooed, hugging him tight. Really, her sister was so impulsive. "You're doing such a good job already."

"That's right, we won't let anything happen to you." Shiva smiled. "I'm just a little restless is all. You take all the time you need Krish."

_Lies._  
_Remember._  
_All lies._  
_Remember._

Krishna looked around, confused. Someone was whispering to him, but his family was right there...it wasn't them. Very faintly but still there. Where was it coming from? These whispers had been happening since he first awoke. Before, they hadn't really bothered him. Now it was becoming annoying.

_Lies._  
_Remember._  
_All lies!_  
_Remember!_

"Father, I hear something. Like someone is trying to talk to me. It used to be very soft but now..." He shook his head trying to clear it. Yet, the murmurs grew a bit louder and were making his head ache. It sounded like a bunch of people talking all at once. He wanted it to go away. On instinct, he brought the flute to his lips and began to play. A fast, jaunty tune.

_Li..._  
_Re...er..._  
_Al..._  
_..._

Smiling when finished, he pulled his flowing locks into a high ponytail then tucked the instrument in his sash. He did not see how truly concerned his sisters were, something was hurting their little brother. The child missed his father's satisfied smirk as well.

/He can silence those annoying voices trying to call him back to his former self on his own. Heh, heh... I'm so proud. Once he has had sufficient exposure to the power I've siphoned from that sparkle-headed twit, they will no longer be a problem. Then my anchor to this world will be cemented. And my strongest mage yet will become whole. Those mortals weren't totally worthless./

Part of the Light's mission had been to find him suitable children to forge into soldiers using Starro Tech. Superboy and Match were supposed to be the generals of that army. Luthor had no idea the power hidden within his own blood, or how much of a boost it would receive from Superman's. Idiot.

Somehow though, Castor had sabotaged them both rendering one useful but literally falling apart and allowing the other to develop a mind of his own. His nephew's efforts had caused Superboy to become useless to him but Match was salvaged. He had merely required a master that could stabilize him. One native to this world.

The other task was to find one to convert into his third mage, which they utterly failed at. Not that they knew it. Still it was no excuse for their failure. The only instruction he had given was to find a child with strong magical potential. A task only 'Klarion' was fit to complete and we see how well that worked out. His precious girls proved to be the only ones he could count on. And because of that, he had to reward them. A sweet new sibling to fawn over, and teach the joy of crushing one's enemies beneath his bare heel.

Despite his ruthless ambition, the man resembling the Prince from Mortal Kombat* truly loved his offspring. He'd chosen this realm not only for Gaia's sickening laissez faire approach to ruling but because one of her sons had wronged his poor Shiva when she was mortal. All because she wanted to be stronger. He broke her heart, twisting her into the angry, hate filled witch she was now. He had to pay for that. Pollux was their target at the Watchtower, Castor being there was an unforeseen event. Damn the temporal distortion created when they crossed over.**

Vishnu planned to take away everything that little bastard loved before crushing the life out of him himself. Gaia, Pollux, Sagittarius, that golden eyed tramp. All would suffer for his sins. He looked forward to their misery.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

The world at large was still on high alert. The Logans had fled to a remote area of Quarac to escape the fighting, much to Megan's relief. Public attitudes were not improved by the no comment issued every time the media tried to ask the JLA what was going on. There were talks of military preparations from a lot of nations just in case the League couldn't defend them. Or turned out to be the cause.

For those three weeks, the League had argued over the reliability of the Zodiac Knights. Jordan, Booster, Hawkwoman and Hawkman (upon awakening), continued to oppose associating with them. The mentors of the children and Wonder Woman were at least open to their help. Red Tornado, Mister Terrific, Blue Beetle, Zatara and Stewart (despite most of them nearly dying) were on the fence...but really wanted everyone to shut up. Billy's uncle had been told the truth and the poor man just broke down. He wasn't ignorant of the danger he faced as a part time hero but had always believed those powers would protect his nephew.

The Zodiac Knights themselves had chosen to stay away from them. Mostly. Flash still saw his nephew often and there was no way Green Arrow was going to give up on his relationship with Virgo...or Sagittarius. Rarely were any of the Mages in hero attire; something that had caused a bit of a stink with the Rogues wondering where their 'Baby Flash' had gone. 'Roy Harper' was released from St. Helena's amid a media frenzy.

It was also very obvious Castor and Gabriel only cared about the mortal heroes because they mattered to the ones they loved. Lady Gaia was focusing all her attention on maintaining the universe now that her boys were actively interfering with it.

It bothered Batman that he had to share his son with one of his greatest enemies just because she happened to be his mother from a millennia ago. She screwed up, it was his turn. Get over it. Though he had backed off some. Why? Bruce and his new maid, Ilsa Melepay***, got into an argument about what was best for Richard that resulted in a stressed boy wonder shattering every piece of glass within the foyer with a pulse of energy just to get them to stop. A nonplussed Alfred dusted shards from his uniform then declared "This I one mess I don't believe I am able to repair." and exited the room to check on dinner. Leaving the three of them to blink dumbly at his calm demeanor.

The tension had even begun to wear on Manhunter mentally, who spent more and more time on Earth as John Johns. The only thing they could agree on was that for the time being, the 'kids' needed to be taken off of active duty. There were still routine cases but wonky emotions and powers weren't going to cut it on the battlefield. Not when so much was at stake. So when they called them to the Watchtower...

The Knights sat off to the side, blissfully ignoring the hateful stares leveled at them by some. It gave a lot of the adults the heebie-jeebies that Sylphine continued to present herself as a small child and prefered to sit on her soulmate's lap regardless of the form he took. And she knew it. At present, he was an adult, chained to the adult form of Wally. Sagittarius sat scowling next to Virgo and Epsilon. Gabriel was asleep. Pisces played with a watery mirror where she sat.

"As much as it pains us to do so, we believe it might be best for you all to take a break from hero duties until this is sorted out." Aquaman had drawn the short straw apparently.

The silence that followed was full of tension. After a few minutes of trading glances, the one who spoke up was Aqualad. Like a true leader, he stepped forward and took a stance that clearly said 'I will not back down'.

"With all due respect my king, you have a snowball's chance in hell of that happening." The Atlantean spoke. The expression on the League's faces was worthy of a photo for posterity.

"You guys are doing it again, not trusting us. This time, you can't blame Dr. Fate." Zatanna frowned. " You forget about us for nearly a month now this? How long do you intend to tell us to sit in the corner while the adults work it out?"

"Kids-" Hal began.

"We are not kids dammit!" Superboy yelled, and the table infront of the adults lurched forward, starling them. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly before continuing. "You had your meeting and we had ours. We are done being afraid of our abilities. And we are done being afraid of what you'd think of them." That last sentence was spoken lower than the others but still heard.

"You guys are so focused on keeping us safe, you're not seeing that we aren't fragile. The weirdness that's been going on with all of us was going to happen at some point. Maybe when we got old and grey, maybe in a few years. All the Mages did was speed up the timeframe to make sure we could survive this threat," Rocket said. "We accept the same risks to do the same job as any other hero."

"The future Superboy and I saw is horrible but it doesn't have to happen." Miss Martian took her boyfriend's hand. Eyebrows went up.

"I was right then." Superman sighed. "You knew about how I felt under Fate's direction. You saw something in the future that made you avoid me like you did didn't you?"

Everyone was looking at the two Kryptonians. The Young Justice team was concerned it might be too soon for Connor to face those emotions, the adults were just confused by the exchange. They understood the children's abilities had changed but this much?

"Y-yeah. Some stuff from my dream didn't happen, but the important stuff did. I knew you were only offering to train me so you could make sure I didn't go berserk or something. I got to know Ms. Lane, I even moved to Metropolis and lived with the two of you. Then Sagittarius told her about your motives and she broke off your engagement because of me. It's why I changed my KSK avatar from basically a younger version of you..." He paused. The words felt like stones in his throat, threatening to choke him. Spell or not, the feelings his Kryptonian father showed when he was first liberated from Cadmus were real, not caused my Fate's meddling. The Sorcerer Supreme had merely reinforced them.

But he had to face this. Being afraid of this moment did nothing but compound his troubles since his powers began to expand. With a gentle, encouraging squeeze from Megan's hand in his, he looked straight at the man he was originally designed to destroy. And told everyone what only the two of them knew.

"...to a younger version of Ultraman. At first I didn't think it meant anything. Dreams are just your subconscious messing with you right? Then, the guy from my dream turns out to be real and I - I was so fucking angry, I wanted to hurt you anyway I could. Your greatest fear is becoming him, so I did. Just to spite you and wasted the city I had built to mirror Metropolis just like he wanted to."

"That's not a power Supes has. So where did it come from?" Flash puzzled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Pisces asked. She was reclined in a chair, her mirror spun around like a top flicking droplets of water around. It paused with an image of Lex Luthor in it for all to see. "The boy does have two fathers."

"No way. Lex isn't, wasn't a meta." Hal said. Talks had stalemated, but he still didn't trust the Mages. Especially not one that operated as a villain to maintain her disguise.

"No. But not all born metas are the children of metas. It's a gene and like all genes they may or may not be passed from parent to child." Mr. Terrific nodded. "Conner's human biology still carried the potential. I'm pretty sure Luthor thought any ability his 'son' would develop would be the direct result of Superman's genetic influence, not his own."

"That's what we wished to speak to you about. We've gone over it and reached a conclusion. Sagittarius, you attacked in the manner that you did because despite your intentions, you knew that there was an off chance our growing powers could have injured or killed you if activated correct?" Aqualad asked.

"Bingo." Sagittarius nodded.

"I'm lost..." Wonder Woman conceded.

"It's got to do with Conner's vision. In it, I threw this at Vishnu. And it burned him enough to cause him pain." Artemis held out her hand and a spear of energy formed in it. This naturally caused a commotion. With a thought, it morphed into a slender arrow she balanced on her middle finger. "Don't you guys wonder what we've been doing all this time?"

Connor lifted a few feet off the ground followed by Kaldur, tattoos and eyes ablaze. Raquel teleported to sit on the table in front of Icon, causing him to jump. The same wings made of black energy fanned out behind Robin. Zatanna conjured a dragon of deep violet energy holding her dagger like a wand. Three more Megans appeared, all in different outfits waving at the stunned group before one shifted into a male version of her.

"Whoa, since when can they do that?!" Booster exclaimed. He hadn't really spent anytime with what he considered 'The Bat's Pet Project' but he knew all of their skills. Either someone left some things out or...had they really been paying so little attention?

Um, yes.

"We have the ability to harm Chaos Mages. It's why when I spaced out, I managed to disable Nabu who's almost powerful enough to be one. We are different than you all, for various reasons but we are." Robin avoided Batman's questioning gaze, wrapping his wings around himself. If he looked at his adopted father, he knew he'd lose his nerve. "Zatanna, Kaldur and I have parents who were or are sorcerers. Raquel's near death experience bonded alien tech and DNA to her and it might have activated a metagene, not real sure. Being so close brought out the hidden potential in Connor and Megan. Artemis has always been rather strong willed, her ability lets her manifest it I think. The invaders don't know we exist."

"At least not as a force to be reckoned with. That was the secondary purpose of the power swap wasn't it? To cloak the children's potential from the enemy." Manhunter turned to the Mages who either smiled or shrugged indifferently.

"You're right J'onn. We all have the ability to look into the future but to be honest, we haven't the faintest idea what's going to happen next. It's a side effect of having Chaos Mages that weren't born here show up. We only saw up to about when Tari worked his magic at the cave." Pollux sighed.

"All we can do is help Young Justice learn to control these powers and hope for the best." Virgo added.

So, now what?

Almost a full year ago, they hadn't the slightest idea that anything other than the actions of others and their dedication to being defenders of justice affected their world. That they were merely training the next generation of heroes. That delusion shattered the day that future generation decided being treated like second raters wasn't gonna cut it; that they would be heard. Followed by what could only be described as a nightmare. That had now turned into a surreal dream.

Except the members of Young Justice were wide awake. And forcibly shaking their out of touch predecessors from of their own illusions.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Wow, monsters love their kids too. Who knew? Seems like 'Klarion' is a master at stirring up trouble even when he's not trying. We now know why Vishnu chose this universe. So, what do you guys think? I may reference the time skip but not each day of it in the future. This is already way longer than I planned. Stay tuned and **please review**! Sirensoundwave out.

* Figured a few more people would get that reference over the religious one.

** If you haven't read 'The Road To Hell', Sylphine screwed with the Observant's (and by proxy Clockwork/Ebedi's) ability to see the time stream properly when she showed up in the DP universe. It prevented her from properly seeing into the future without expending a tremendous amount of power as well. Four non-native Mages and one Guardian are having the same effect in the YJ world. Which is why Connor's visions are so important. But remember, he has an evil twin wrapped around Krishna's little finger...

*** The letters in Pamela Isley rearranged.


	26. Chalk Outline

****

I live!

Yes, it's been a while but I am back. Due to my muse having run south of the border and my computer dying, it's been a month almost. Anyhoo, time to answer some questions.

Someone asked me what the deal was with souls being exchanged/stolen/sold in my story. To quote the PM "sounds a lot like devil worship. Selling your soul to shady creatures to get something you want.''. Here's the deal; you are a putz. This is a work of fiction.

In the world of Chaos Mages, the cardinal rule is not to interfere in the affairs of mortals unless there is no other option. Guardians are somewhat exempt from this rule though; they created the universe so they can pretty much do whatever they want. It's important to note this difference because it the fact that Lady Gaia choses to let the people of her domain do as they please is one of many reasons Lord Vishnu wants to conquer the YJverse; he rules with an iron fist. The mages (should) have limited ability to screw with their world unless granted by their mother/father. It's mentioned several times that so long as someone is tethered to the mortal plane, the mages can do little to or for them directly. If you recall the last few chapters of The Road to Hell, Nikkou and Oidhche told the gang that they had a choice to 'be like everyone else' and forget of this ever happened or become 'like Sylphine's friend Chainey' and be able to protect those they loved but they couldn't do it as they were; they would have to be altered.

Rules can't be broken but they can be bent. All three mages have overstepped their bounds because they could see something horrible coming. This happened in Epsilon's case; Jade is still alive but living on borrowed time. She was supposed to die before the series even started but Sagittarius gave her a choice. Die because of her father's tantrum now or because she drew the short straw in the genetic lotto not long after. Her heart condition will kill her, most likely before this story ends. The positive is she was able to protect her sister as well as further their plans. Pollux became Wally West after Mary's baby had already died in the womb-he didn't kill the child; the mother's self destructive behavior did. Castor had it easier because he chose the side where no one would really look that hard at his origins.

Next, someone got mad because I'm screwing with religions. You are also a putz.

Christianity isn't the only religion on the planet. Sorry but it's not. I don't claim to be an expert on Hinduism or pagan religions of the ancient western world but I have read some things about them. Would it kill you to do the same? Even a lazy fuck know how to use google. I already said from the jump that I would screw with various mythologies. My intention is not to dump on any belief either. Shiva is the god of destruction, Kali the god of death both things necessary for the universe to function but often viewed by outsiders as evil. Vishnu is the supreme god of some sects of Hinduism. Krishna is often considered an incarnation of Vishnu , was conceived metaphysically and represents divine love and joy; often portrayed as a mischievous child. This is very important to remember as the story continues.

But seriously, read a book or stop reading this story. I couldn't care less which you choose ^_^

Now, this chapter is more or less just a focus on the adult Leaguers. While the mages of the YJ world work with the team, Sylphine and Gabriel talk to them and give them some perspective on how the world really works. Just how things they never know about do catch up to people. Chalk Outline by Three Days Grace is the soundtrack. That can't be good can it?

Warning: This is kinda sad then kinda creepy. But if you can handle a young adult novel, you can handle this under the current rating. This song is being used for it's literal imagery, not for an implied romance. Also, the computer I did this on is kinda lacking spell check. Promise to re-edit once i have a better program. May add more detail too; toned it down after it scared my beta. Who's 12.

I own nothing but what you don't recognize.

Chapter 26  
Chalk Outline

The transition from pretty much the second rate sidekicks to the world's last hope wasn't really as complicated as one on the outside would think. Young Justice being trained by the mages instead of their mentors wasn't too big a shift, especially since Black Canary was still one of their main teachers. The subject matter just changed is all.

Each Mage was essentially the physical representation of change and adaptability. The star signs they were named after occured during seasonal transitions. Pisces was winter to spring. The Gemini sign appeared as spring became summer. Virgo, summer to fall. Sagittarius and Epsilon (the brightest star of the constellation) bridged fall and winter. This in and of itself meant that they were natural forces that ruled the universe. Still, it was so much more complicated than that.

For instance, those with emotionally driven powers (Kalur, and Robin) were best handled by Pisces. Having a millennia's worth of practice controlling her anger and finding positive ways to channel it helped a great deal.

Rocket and Artemis spent most of their time with Sagittarius, much to the blonde's initial dislike. Their powers were ruled not so much by emotion but determination and a desire to express themselves.

Originally, Zatanna was suppose to study under Castor but for practicality sake, Virgo became her teacher for the most part. Their close relationship served their cause better than learning under someone with similar abilities. Instead, the twins taught Megan and Conner. Which worked out well because the bond they shared was almost the same.

While they were making progress, the League made some of their own. Courtesy the intervention of Sylphine and Gabriel. Who had nothing better to do. The pair appeared as the league was meeting to discuss action to be taken in rounding up some Belle Reve escapees.

"What do you want now?" Hal Jordan frowned. "You've made it clear we're useless already."

"In more ways than one." Gabriel muttered. Sylphine swatted the back of his head. "Dammit Syl it's true."

"We aren't here to rub it in your faces. Instead offer some perspective." The petite girl sighed. " You do a lot of good but there are things that you don't know about. Crimes committed that you can't solve because they are hidden. Or happen to those no one cares for. The truth is, there is a whole other side of the world you protect that you know nothing about."

"Thought you weren't here to rub our noses in it." Booster glared. Blue put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm the other man down.

"We're not Blondie. We're here to show you fucked up things happen whether we're involved or not. The world is kinda cold and dark sometimes." Gabriel moved away from his sister, in case she decided to deck him."But Kama's good balancer. Kinda a bitch and doesn't work the way mortal would like though. Let's take a trip."

The entire room was bathed in a silver glow before the heroes found themselves standing outside a house. The new moon was hidden further by the clouds. The home couldn't possibly be inhabited falling down as it was. Weeds, trash including rusted out appliances and other debris covered the lawn; caution tape on the posts that used to hold fence planks

"What is this?" Batman frowned as he inspected their surroundings. A woman walking her dog appeared to not notice the gaggle of uniformed heroes in the middle of the street. Nor did the blur that ran right through Hawkwoman as if she wasn't even there.

"That was Icicle! What is he doing in Star City? How come he could run right through us like that?" Green Arrow turned to the pair.

"Shh. Just watch. You can't do anything about whatcha see." Gabriel smirked.

For some reason, the light's activities at Belle Reve ceased. A fact that puzzled those involved.

Strange was at a loss for what to do. His employers had yet to contact him in over a month. Production of the chips and their testing on inmates had ground to a halt. The charlatan kept up appearances but his less polished associates were not happy about being in the dark. Especially since those on the lower rung had no idea who the Light was or that two of them were worm food now.

Particularly upset, one Joar Makent.

Sitting in his cell, he grew rather angry at the turn of events. He'd been promised a free ride once all this was over. Now, no new orders. No contact whatsoever. He got the feeling he'd been fucked over. When they managed to organize a real breakout, he headed for the one place that he always visited after every release. That god forsaken house that drew him there all the time. It wasn't of any use-to dangerous to actually enter anymore so not a hideout...

He found himself sitting on the back porch rubbing his temples. This made no sense.

"You got that right."

He turned his head to see his son standing less than 10 ft away. How did that little shit get here?! He told him to wait in the warehouse-

/That boy...he is not alive./ Zatara gasped.

/Not alive? An illusion then?/ Flash really hoped the sorceror said yes.

/No. That child is a soul./

"Nobody can see or hear what's happening here father." The young man spat the spat word. "As for your first question, you did get screwed. But if it makes you feel better, the Light isn't the cause of your problems. For once, I really am to blame."

"You double crossed me AGAIN!? I knew I should've taken care of you years ago!" The thug attempted to stand and rush him. To his horror, his body stayed put. A smile crept across his boy's face.

"Do you know what a deva is? Of course you don't." He snorted. "Here's a couple easy ones. Why do you hold on to this old dump of a place? You've held the deed for almost a decade. You keep visiting, but never do anything with it. What happened to me when I was 9, Pop?"

When he was-

"No. That was some whacked out dream. Got alcohol poisoning or 're right here not-" The older hood began to sweat, trying to shake his head.

"-buried under where you're sittin? No, beating be bloody then leaving me freeze and suffocate to death wasn't a dream. You knew damn well I was still alive when you threw me in that hole. I could feel the dirt, crushing me with every shovelful you tossed. You murdered me!"

Joar found himself face down on the ground, an immense pressure weighing down on his back. Cameron never moved.

"I've been dead for 8 years you bastard. For three of them, trapped and unable to move on because I wanted to know why my own parents didn't love me." Cameron stayed put, showing no emotion. "Then I realized, you're both incapable of loving anyone but yourselves. You never let anyone move in, fix it up or hell, tear it down. I feel it when you're there, looking oh so confused by what keeps drawing you to this decrepit building. It's not guilt. If it was, you'd have come clean to someone even if it wasn't the cops. It's a sick sense of pride, the one crime no one will ever know you committed, that you got off scott free with. Suddenly, it wasn't enough to just know why I died. I had to make you suffer for it. So I let you prove me right over and over. Just waiting for this moment."

"Gonna kill me huh? Finally got some balls then." The words were cold and taunting but their speaker was quaking inside. Hard to sound big and bad with a face full of dirt. He wasn't going out like some sniveling wimp. This had to be a trick.

"Oh no, no, no, Pop. That wouldn't be fair! I gave you every chance to own up to it. Forcing you to replay it in your dreams. All the times when your associates couldn't remember who I was. Opening the door to my room only to see nothing but a dusty unused space before blinking and there I sat on the bed. Didn't you ever wonder about those episodes, hm? I don't want your life, no..." Cam laughed, his eyes taking on a malicious gleam. He chuckled as he whispered into his father's ear. "I want your sanity."

*The scene morphed into a room familiar to the father and son.*

"I'm sorry daddy!"

"You worthless little shit! I lost a good haul cuz of you!"

The voice of a scared child and his own drunken rage. The sound of glass bottles scattering as a small body was thrown into a table. Blood everywhere staining the carpet and 9 year old Cameron Makent.

No! This night had been a dream, it wasn't real. No matter how he tried to deny it, it didn't help. Didn't stop the scene from playing out before him like a movie. Joar already knew how this ended, despite wishing otherwise. All the years he'd convinced himself that this did not happen, because his idiotic soon was still with him. But deep inside, he knew the truth. That the creature he saw nearly every day was not his living son, only his tortured soul. As the younger version of him brought a heavy foot down on the dazed child's back, he found himself screaming at the memory.

No. God no! Don't!

/Great Hera!/ Wonder Woman cried.

/This is sick! Stop it!/

/Why are we watching this?!/

The voices of the League didn't do anything to stop the memory.

THUMP! CRACK!

He hadn't noticed back then but boy did he this time around. That horrible sound, clear as a bell. Two noises made simultaneously. Cam was too close to the table. When his father stomped on him, his tiny body was wedged in. His head hit the wood as he was trying to get back up. Having nowhere to go, his neck couldn't take the pressure.

It snapped.

Instanly his form went limp. His enraged father didn't even notice the child offered no resistence to the fury of kicks. Only when he yanked the boy roughy by his collar to yell in his face did he see it. Two blue eyes, wide open but glazed over. Unfocused and unresponsive to the ceiling lamp now shining into them. His head lolled to the side with each frenzied shake.

"Wake up! Damn you wake up!"

What had he done? He dropped the child in horror, realization dawning. Being no stranger to death and having caused his fair share of it, he knew his son was dead.

*end*

"I wasn't dead yet. If you took me to a hospital, I could have lived. Don't lie to yourself Joar. You saw me breathing if only faintly. But what did you do? You drug me outside by my leg like a fucking animal. I lay there on the gravel; unable to move or talk, watching you dig a hole. The same hole you threw me into. My GRAVE! Out of sight out of mind." Cameron was right beside him, seething. Only now, he was a child again. "I suffocated you know. Being face down and covered in 4 feet of dirt will do that to a child. I was terrified. Now it's your turn. Say hi to mom for me, you'll be seeing that bitch soon."

The sound of screaming drew the attention of a passing patrol car. The officers were suprised to see the notorious Icicle curled in a fetal position clawing at himself in a patch of weeds. Hollering not to be buried alive.

"Why did you bring them?" Cameron frowned as his clearly deranged father was tased and sedated.

" That was highly disturbing." Superman sighed. "So...can you rest in peace now?"

"You've been watchin too much TV blue boy." The ghost snorted. "I'm a deva now. Specifically a vengeance reaver. We don't move on. Once we get justice for ourselves, we do the same for those unable you have no idea about. Don't look at me with such pity. Save it for the next dumb sonnuva bitch I go after."

And without further ado, he faded away. Leaving two mages unaffected and the world's finest deep in thought.

*I am bum bum bum...a line break!**I am bum bum bum...a line break!*

Poor Cam. This is another concept from my original work. Devas are basically the umbrella term for everything not human but not a Chaos mage. For anyone reading Nightfall, Roy and Klarion from that story fall into this category but they are a different breed of Deva.

Reviews appreciated. Sirensoundwave out!  



	27. Move Along

Sup. I know I left some stuff out last chapter so here's Cameron's story (and some other important stuff). Still sad but what he is now and why they did nothing to help him are explained.

Important note: When Castor, Pollux and Sagittarius are in their Mage forms (basically more mature versions of themselves) I will use their mage names. Same with Pisces, Virgo and Epsillon. When they are in their forms familiar to their YJ portrayal, that's the name they will be called. Black Canary in costume, Dinah in civvies, etc.

Once again, no spell check yet. Sorry in advance.

All-American Rejects' Move Along is the soundtrack/

Onward!

Chapter 27  
Move Along

Batman sat in front of the Batcomputer looking somewhat frustrated. Even before age 8, there are no documents on anyone named Cameron Makent. Joar had the boy off the grid for a year at least according to what they witnessed. Still...he'd hoped that what they all saw was some kind of illusion, unfortunately it wasn't. When the house was searched, they found the skeletal remains of a child, dressed in the exact same jumper as they boy the Leauge all watched die , 4 and a half feet under the soil of the back porch. His injuries old and just prior to death were horrendous. The break in his neck probably didn't kill him though or at least not right away. The exact cause of death couldn't be determined. DNA concluded it was Cameron though. As heart wrenching as that was, the fact that there was no record of Icicle Jr at any age was alarming as well. His name and all activities vanished from any legal, media or private League databases. The only way to identify him had been Zatara's sad recount of the events and Green Arrow's demand that they take a sample from Makent. No one, not even people on the bridge that day the year before, could remember him. When they investigated Belle Reve, the response they got?

_"Capo had a kid?" Crystal Frost puzzled. Then shrugged at Superman. "News ta me."_

_"Junior? Huh?" Danny Brickwell just stared at Green Arrow. "He always worked with his thugs, never saw any brat around him."_

_"Have we taken too many blows to the head Batman? Makent does not have a child. At least not one that's been here." Victor Fries frowned. "Are we through? I should like to return to my cell."_

The more he looked the less he found. On Cameron, any way. His mother Ursula Yandon had gone insane three years after the approximate date of the murder. Because there was no official record of his birth, it was very easy to dump the kid on his father and run off with the man that would become her husband; who had no idea the boy existed. Now the Dark Knight understood the line about his mother. He haunted her first, making her come completely unglued. During her evaluation, Ursula claimed a bloody child kept popping up at her job, in her car while driving, in her home, begging to know why she abandoned him. As time went on, the child went from pleading to threatening. She claimed he destroyed things around her if she didn't acknowledge him and caused her physical injury. What got her institutionalized was attacking what she thought was the 'little devil' but in actuality was a neighbor's child. The girl recovered but Yandon got commited, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia with a disposition towards physically violent psychotic rampages. It had been concluded she damaged property and caused herself harm due to it. Her DNA being part of the system as a violent offender caused her name to pop up in the initial investigation as a possible relative.

Makent Sr. now spent half his day sedated, the other half screaming about his son making him crazy. How the teen was manipulating the police, the doctors and the media to make it seem like he was dead. Despite being presented with evidence to the contrary, that no one called Icicle Jr, hero or otherwise, existed, Joar proclaimed it was all a trick to get back at him. Then he would break down, sobbing and crying about killing his little boy by accident, that he was sorry. His case was new, so all that was listed for him so far was dillusional psychosis. Ironically, both were now commited to the Willowbrook Institute for the Mentally Ill indefinately.

Every hero that had contact with or heard about him did remember him though. They wanted an explaination for what they witnessed. Klarion explained it but as expected the explanation did little to make anyone feel better.

_"Devas are anything that is self aware but not human and not a Chaos mage. Aliens and metahumans often don't count as they are natural evolutions of their species. The easiest way to put it is they are the source of all supernatural myths and legends. Vengence reavers are pretty much what cause all hauntings . For whatever reason, a soul cannot rest, and some desire anchors them to the mortal plane. Some are able to move on once they complete the unfinished business that kept them here._

_Others don't. They are become avenging angels of a sort, wander about aimlessly, or warp into malicious spectres that terrorize the living without regard for whom they hurt. It's why some ghosts lead people away from danger but others lure them into it. And some are just...there."_

_"So why do you let such things happen? That poor child...I could feel his terror as he was buried." Zatara shivered. The League and the Team looked to him for a justification. He merely shrugged nonchalantly._

_"They are much more common than one would think but it is not our place to right wrongs caused by mortals to one another. Yeah it sounds cruel but that's life. That's why you guys exist, but I'm sure you've noticed by now that not everyone can be saved. Or that you can't solve a crime no one knows was commited."_

Artemis was horrified. By what Klarion said, bust mostly by what she lfound out about how her friend lived and died. To know that Cameron never even existed on paper. To learn the very day Sportsmaster and Icicle argued and parted ways, hours after the very last time she made a snowman with him, he was stone cold and forgotten. What kind of friend was she?!

"One that was 7 years old and defenseless. What happened wasn't your fault." Wally reminded her. The two were walking together on the beach near the cave, hand in hand. Intitally, things had been very weird. Her boyfriend was almost as old as the universe, his brothers were two of the most annoying people she knew and his mother was essentially god. "We forget things as our lives change and evolve. Somethimes, we forget what we swore to remember forever. Even Chaos Mages."

"I just feel so useless! I've supposedly got all this power but it hasn't helped anyone I love!" It was a rare event indeed that Artemis Crock allowed anyone to see her cry. Deep down, she understood bad things happen to innocent folks all the time. Didn't ease her pain and frustration in the least. Burying her face in Wally's chest, weeping her eyes out was some comfort though. The two reached a bench where they sat down and held each other close.

Causing Sylphine to smile and the beech tree to Gabriel's left to spontaneously combust as the twins looked on.

"Are we jealous?" The pixy giggled. With a wave of her hand, a cyclone of air snuffed out the blaze.

"Shut up. She's mortal. She will die and break his heart, it's inevitable. Why would he put himself through that?" her brother snarled.

"Are you so sure? He could complete the process started to get them all this far. Bind her to him for eternity. Will you accept it then?"

"Aunt Gaia would have to do that, not him Sylphy. You and Castor haven't exactly has smooth sailing in your relationship."

"No. But, I do know that he loves me enough to want me to be happy, even if it the meant not having him by my side. The same is true of me for him. Your possesive, stalkerish tendencies are what got you in this mess Gabriel. That's what drove him away, not trusting or communicating. Talk to him, stop assuming. You know he's willing to suffer for someone he cares about, how do you know that's not the case now?" She turned to him and folded her arms.

The silver haired man only frowned deeper. Affinity, he hated when his sister made sense. As loathe as he was to admit it, he knew he'd fucked up eons ago. His temper sucked, and the two of them ended up breaking up over a misunderstanding, After hearing him talk about wanting to spend time with a Mage from another realm, he blew up, accusing him of cheating and using him. Pollux cried and left.

Sometime later he met the other Mage, immediately feeling like a heel. Snow white hair, big green eyes, a light tan and small frame, Nikkou was pretty much a child compared to him. All Guardians were the same age but chose different times to have their offspring. Because of this, age, as we would define it, was meaningless once experience was gained. Once they developed a conduit or item of power, they were considered mature regardless of appearance. Never the less, the kusarigama weilding boy wanted to learn more control over his affinity, so Uncle Ebedi sent his son to see someone with more experience. He was confused and sad, thinking Pollux hated him because he no longer wanted to teach him. Poor thing couldn't understand what he did wrong.

In Lady Aurii's garden, Sylphine smiled up at her twin, that deceptivly sweet innocent smile. Right before she cocked her tiny fist back and he saw stars. As unconciousness consumed him, Gabriel watched her take the other light mage's hand and walk off with him towards the pools of their mother's palace. Assuring him he's done nothing wrong, that Pollux just needed some time to himself.

Once he got his act together (*cough*woke up*cough*), he tried to speak to his love. The instant he entered Lady Gaia's realm however, a barrage of razor sharp black petals and golden arrows assaulted him. Castor and Sagittarius were not going to let him anywhere near the palace and by proxy their depressed brother. One would think that unless together, the Gemini twins were powerless. Not true. As Wally and Klarion, their disguises, they had no access to their higher powers. A precaution taken to make sure they didn't tip the cosmic scales while undercover. In their natural forms, merely in different locations, was a whole other deal. Two against one were always bad odds so he was forced to leave and not return.

Now millions of years later they were finally together again but just as far apart.

Dammit.

*I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!**I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!**I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!*

In a pocket dimension, the cause of another love gone wrong was brushing her little brother's hair, humming happily to herself. After tying back his ebony tresses, Shiva hugged him tight.

"Ready Krish?" she asked.

"Yup! I can't wait to make you all proud of me!" He beamed, but then the smile faltered. "But, what if I mess up? What if I hurt innocent people?"

"Oh sweety, you'll do just fine. We aren't expecting you to conquer everyone all by your lonesome." Her brown eyes sparkled with mirth. "Besides, there is no such thing as the innocent brother. What we do is for the good of all, casualties are just an unpleasant result sometimes."

"Okay..."

"Come on. Kali and I will be around if you need us. Time to shine."

*I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!**I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!**I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!*

Not long after the that, Miss Martian learned she could not create a force field that stopped energy based attacks. While the information was nothing new, it did little to help her ego as a small child blasted her through a shop wall with a musical note from rainbow colored flute. She'd changed into her uniform while under the rubble then phased through it to face her opponent.

He looked about 10 or 11. No shirt to cover his sky blue skin but he was wearing an abundance of gold bangles and jeweled rings, the same color as his eyes. His lower half clothed in bright yellow wide legged pants, though it could have been something like kilt. A single peacock feather adorned his black hair.

"Not as big a deal as I thought. Pity." Putting the instrument to his lips again, the played a shrill tune and several...creatures rose from the ground. Sickly grey humanoid forms with no facial features other than burning red eyes. Some were hunched over but all lumbered about like zombies...until they moved like track stars to swarm the outnumbered heroine.

Cue civillians screaming, stampeding and generally loosing their god damned minds in hysteria. She vaguely wondered what took them so long to flee before blasting the creatures back.

Let's back up.

She and Conner went to Metropolis in order to talk to Lois, explain things to her; maybe convince her to give Clark another shot. They tried to get Roy to come but he had no real intrest in doing so. Something about them needing to work things out themselves; that and he really didn't care. While it did piss Conner off (seeing as he set up the event that lead to the break up), Megan 'accidentally' pushed him into the zeta beam before they got into a fight.

She wasn't at home so they stopped by the Daily Planet. Jimmy Olsen told them she had been working on the story behind the inevitable implosion of LexCorp for sometime and hardly ever came into the office. With Conner feeling for her aura, they found her at a coffee shop, typing up her latest scoop and sipping a carmel macchiato half an hour later. As they crossed the street, someone tapped Conner's shoulder.

"Yea-?"

POW!

Next thing he knew, he was two and a half blocks away. He skidded to a mid air stop, barely stopping in time to avoid mowing over a man pushing a stroller. Megan's urgent scream didn't register as he blocked another blow, mentally pushing his assailent back. Once the got a good look, he realized the attacker was very familiar. Dressed in black and blue leather, Match stood before him, looking as stable as ever. He wasn't falling apart, or ranting like a mad man. Only smirking dangerously.

"How's tricks little brother?"

*I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!**I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!**I am bum, bum, bum...a line break!*

Well, here's Krishna! His costume is pretty much how the actual diety looks, without the head dress. I didn't think that would stay on in a battle. I managed to explain what was left out last chapter, get some character background out there and move the plot along. Yay me! n_n

After the fight, I plan to catalog everyone's strengths and weaknesses so we're all on the same page about who can do what. I promise no one is all powerful; we've just seen one of Miss M's flaws. One she shares with her boyfriend and a reason Sagittarius's arrows went right through them before. Read and review, Sirensoundwave out!


	28. Sinner

What up peeps? Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long. I have RA, a condition that screws with my joints sometimes and makes typing painful T_T. This chapter actually took a week to write and I have been on sick leave from work too.

Anyhoo, this chapter has some suprises for the Zodiac Knights and Co.; particularly just how vicious the innocent looking Krishna is. He was taught by the first family of mean after all. And having a psychotic Kryptonian clone as a pet just screams 'dangerous'. The title comes from the band Drowning Pool's song Sinner.

Let's do this.

Chapter 28  
Sinner

The first thing Miss Martian tried was to get into the minds of these creatures. Fat lot of good it did. As best she could tell, there was nothing to get into. Their brains were like blank slates save for a door in the back of thier subconcious that was locked up like Fort Knox. Their movements, thoughts, everything came from the notes this kid was playing. There were only two words bouncing around those empty skulls.

Kill.  
Destroy.

Great.

"I don't see why Shiva and Kali were worried. You're no match for me green bean." the boy laughed. He seemed to enjoy watching her fight off a few before more swarmed her. The fact that some could generate electricity and fire was certainly not to her advantage either. Her shield could only do so much.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?!" She called, mentally pushing her attackers away in a broad arc. Deciding she had a better advantage in the air, she flew just out of the creatures' grasp. They couldn't fly but they did continue to fire at her. Now she had room to dodge.

"Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Krishna, son of the mighty Vishnu. And this world will kneel before me, starting with you!" Krishna's otherwise angelic face took on an malicious expression. Twirling the instrument in his hand, the rainbow pattern bled away, leaving it a solid deep purple. Once again, he began to play. But...there was no sound...

"AHHH!" Miss M clutched her head crying out in agony. It felt like fireworks were going off in her brain and her vision expoded into a white expanse. Her face felt wet but she could scarcly tell if it was sweat, tears or blood from her eyes and nose. Nothing was audible but the kid was producing a supersonic pitch of some kind that was not only painful but able to screw with her pain was so distracting, she only noticed that she was losing altitude when her legs were grabbed by a dozen grey hands.

A few blocks away, Superboy had his hands full with the no longer defective clone. Match was just as strong as he remembered. So not good. It was taking all his might to fend off his blows let alone attack. Then the back of his skull errupted in pain even though he hadn't been hit.

"My master cripples her mind then yours by proxy. Psychic bonds are a bitch aren't they?" Match laughed. Getting right in Connor's face, he delivered a brual headbutt to the dazed teen.

"How are you stable?!" Superboy growled, lashing out with his foot. He managed to catch his brother across the chin. Match replied first with a roundhouse that sent the hybrid spinning like a top into another building.

"My master is to thank for that. All I have to do is follow his orders and I'm free to do as I please." The older clone shrugged.

"How is that freedom? You've been turned into an attack dog for this master." Connor frowned as he got to his feet.

"As if you're any better off. You sit around waiting for the League to send you out. How is my situation worse? Because you're a 'good guy' and I'm a 'bad guy'? Please. Power is what matters little brother. Something you have little of. Betcha can't do this." Before Connor's eyes, one homicidal clone became 3.

Shit.

*I am bum...bum...bum..a linebreak!*

"Looks like Vishnu's mystery kid has made his debut." Batman frowned. He has been in the cave for a while, modifying the League's tech to detect 'magical' signatures much the same way Fate's program had. The only difference being this software wasn't a two way spy device to monitor both and their targets and the heroes as they searched. Yet another reminder of Nabu's ego/rampant paranoia.

"Something's wrong." Ilsa said from behind him. "That signiature is too strong to belong to one just born."

The dark knight scowled. It was bad enough that she had wormed her way back into his son's life, he hated that she had access to the entire mansion too, regardless of his protests. The ability to teleport made security codes moot that way. Still, her knowledge of science hadn't been a front, it was a true passion for her. That alone made her valuable. Operating on the principle that energy is energy, magical or not, the two had come up with a few measures that might help turn the tide.

"So what is it then? It's not four arms or either of his daughters."

"It's a mage alright and the weaker signal is his servant, but I have a very bad feeling about this. Alert the elder heroes, tell them to stand by but deactivate all zeta transport points." Ilsa's hair bun exploded as her maid uniform became a familiar green leotard before her cloak materialized over it. Without further ado, she vanished in a shower of blue sparkles.

He hated being told what to do, but Batman's own gut told him she had cause to worry.

"Batman to Watchtower."

"What up Bats?" Flash responded.

"Pisces just left in a hurry. We detected an enemy Mage in Metropolis, engaging Miss Martian and Superboy but something's not right. If it is the child from Connor's vision, he's too strong. Are any of the Knights on board?"

"No, Castor just dropped off a unique present, a cat collar containing the rest of the light in some kind of stasis. We got the weird signature spike but the beam's down."

"I know, I was told to deactivate it. If it is what we think, there's little we can do anyhow."

"Unfortunately, I think you're right." The speedster sighed.

*I am bum...bum...bum..a linebreak!*

Team wasn't content to sit around though. Upon discovering the beam was down, they were pissed.

"We're fucking locked in!" Shouted Artemis. Her aura flared before she willed it to calm down.

"I think I could teleport but I know I can't take everyone with me." Rocket sighed.

"You won't have to." Black Canary called their attention to the computer. It showed several dots in Metropolis. One was the new kid, one was unknown but of the same type. Two more were Miss Martian and Superboy. But two more were obviously Mages from the good guy side. "My sister and Lord Sagittarius are on the way to help. We're all worried about this new Mage, he's got too much power for one so young."

"How do we know this kid is new? He could very well have existed for a while couldn't he?" Aqualad proposed.

"No. Lady Gaia sensed his creation not long after the Watchtower attack. It is something the Guardians share, a bond that allows them to sense eachother's activities to an extent. We are concerned because this mage is only a month old and he is almost stronger than his sisters. Power like that takes eons to amass. This is bad." Canary rubbed her temples.

*I am bum...bum...bum..a linebreak!*

On the battlefield, Superboy was getting his ass kicked. Not only that, Megan had gone silent in his mind. They were screwed if help didn't arrive soon.

"Come on!" Match 1 punched him in the face.

"We gave you a month to prepare!" Match 2 grabbed his foot and slammed him into the pavement.

"This is the best you can do?!" Match 3 was about to stomp his head in.

"Fuck off!" Superboy roared. He created an invisible barrier over himself and pushed out with all his might. All three of his attackers were blown back. Bleeding from his nose and mouth, he back spring to his feet only to pause as those words sunk in.

/A month. Some trump cards, they knew about us already!/ he gasped. /Is Match like me?!/

"Pay attention little bro!" He thoughts were interupted by another blow to the face.

Supes shook it off as his mind raced. /If he is, this...is an illusion. Only one's real!/

Now all he had to do was concentrate on the real one. Hard too do when you can clearly see and feel three attackers trying to beat you into oblivion.

Krishna was standing over the now prone form of Miss Martian. After a moment of contemplation, he knelt beside her and stroked her hair. The rammed his hand through her chest.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed, jarring awake. She could see that his arm was sunk into her body nearly to the elbow, white light pouring from thed wound instead of blood.. He seemed to be digging for something, but it hurt too much for her to tell just what. He smiled and suddenly everything seemed to...distant. The sound of the sons of Superman clashing, the pain she felt, even the sight of her attacker pulling something from her body. Before his hand fully emerged, it all went black.

Krishna inspected the treasure he had plucked from her. A bright, oblong sphere of white light. Her soul. A new toy to play with.

THWACK! Something hard smacked him across the face and he dropped his prize to clutch his broken nose.

"Son of a bitch!" He wailed in agony.

"Grabbing the breast of a woman you've just met. How rude!" A moment later, a blast of water knocked him backwards. Angry, he looked up to see Pisces standing protectively in front of Miss M's pale body.

"That hurt you old hag!"

"That was the point." She summoned several mirrors that shattered around her before surging foward at him like darts.

"Nice try!" He dodged and used the twirling trick to change the color of the flute from purple to red. "Burn bitch!"

Pisces has little time to form a shield as flames engulfed the entire block. To her horror, she could still feel the heat. Hairline cracks appeared in the shield as well. Glad that she had caught the orb, she shoved it back into the martian girl right before the barrier exploded.

/This is insane! How can he be this strong? No choice./

"Winter Vindication!" she boomed.

Krishna's flames died out as the charred remains of the city block were coated in ice in an instant, and so was he. For all of 10 seconds.

"ARGH! I'm done playing nice!" He tore the feather from his hair and launched it like a throwing knife. As the woman teleported herself and the injured girl away, the quill lodged in the sidewalk. It seemed as if nothing would happen, until a strange crystaline substance began to creep along the concrete at an alarming rate.

"Don't let it touch you!" Connor took to the air once he heard Sagittarius yell. Looking down, he saw a man who'd been cowering behind a car turn into a crystal sculpture. He vaguely registered Matche's grunt of pain as several golden arrow impacted his back. His concentration broken, the illusions vanished too.

The crystal had begun to grow faster and faster. In only 20 minute the entirety of Metropolis became covered in a crystaline sunstance. Every building, car and person in the city frozen in place like Captain Cold had blown through the area.

"All that fuss and you still couldn't stop me. How disappointing. See you later losers!" Krishna blew a raspberry before he and Match vanished into thin air. Their ghoulish help following.

"You okay Superboy?" Sagittarius as perched atop a street lamp.

"I'll live. Where's Megan?!"

"Pisces took her to the cave. We need to leave, now!" He lept up and snagged to hybrid's collar and propelling them both into a black portal.

They landed in the rec room at Mt Justice. Well, Conner did. Tari fell hard on his side, clutching his foot. It was incased in the same crystal as the city.

"Little bastard!" He groaned. Managing to sit up, he drove one sickle shaped tip of his bow into it and it broke away without damaging his foot.

"What happened to Megan!" Connor was more concerned for his girlfriend at the moment.

"The same thing that happened to Captain Marvel. Luckily I retrieved her soul before he could steal it." Pisces huffed exaustedly.

"They know about us. Match practically told me." Superboy sat down next to the unconscious shapeshifter. "He said they gave us a month to prepare."

"Time out, Match? As is black eyes and falling apart last time we saw him?" Robin raised a brow.

"Who?" Rocket blinked.

"My pyschotic 'twin'. He has the same precognition I do. I just know it. It's how they found out about us."

"If that's the case, we have a hell of a lot more to worry about. Krishna didn't crystalize Metropolis for fun. He created a Nexus point." Sagittarius pulled up a display of Superman's city. Or rather, the black dome crackiling with electricity where it should have been."

No one knew what to say.

*I am bum...bum...bum..a linebreak!*

Well, that sucks. What else did they get wrong? Stay tuned to find out. Reviews are much loved, Sirensoundwave out!


	29. Schism

Hey-o! As requested, here's a quick review picking up from where the last review took place.

The chaos mages have revealled Nabu to be a vindictive prick trying to turn the League against them. They have also shown themselves to be Klarion, Kid Flash, Black Canary, Red Arrow, Cheshire and Poison Ivy. Klarion played villian, Wally played hero and Roy straddled the line between in order to form the Young Justice team. Their goal was to force the Team and the League to confront their inner demons and allow their real powers to shine through. Just as they were making progress, Shiva and Kali killed Luthor and Queen Bee on worldwide tv. This revealed the Light's mysterious partner to be their father Vishnu, the Guardian of another realm. He had been using the Light to collect suitable specimens to transform into his army so he could invade their world while slowly weakening Lady Gaia. When the girls attacked the Watchtower, they wiped the floor with the League and stole Captain Marvel's soul. Which Vishnu used to create his third Mage, Krishna.

The Heroes and the Mages have an uneasy alliance. Some feel the deciet they used is unforgivable or at least lacking in trustworthiness. Especially since it is revealed that they all knew the light was experimenting on the missing children and Young Justice developed strange new powers under their watch. That and Batman just found out one of his worst enemies is really the mother of his adopted son. Last chapter, Miss Martian and Superboy put those new abilities to the test against Krishna and the very stable Match. And got beaten into the ground.

This chapter is the longest yet and titled after the Tool song Schism; for reasons that willl become clearer as you read. This a mix of review, introspective and explanation of past events. Some would say this qualifies as a filler chapter. I call it an informative interlude. Isn't word play fun? n_n I apologize for any spelling errors, still wonky computer.

Here we go!

Chapter 29  
Schism

Far removed from the turmoil of the world, a being observed it's happenings. On a plane so close to the world of metas, aliens and homo magi that it affected said world yet the inverse was rarely true. The dimension that the Chaos Mages of this universe refered to as home, where the Palace of Lady Gaia existed. The Lady herself was watching the recent developments, saddened by what she saw.

In the very center of her palace was her throne room of sorts. From this point, she found herself able to see only the past and present from her Infinity Mirror. The perpetually splintered, winding and occasionally folded in upon itself path of the future was blocked, even to her; the supreme ruler of the universe. Here she sat, regally monitoring the world she gave rise to...most of the time. More often than she cared to admit, she had given in to her own frustration and occasional boredom. This resulted in loud sighs, absently drumming her fingers along the armrests, frequent position changes which included very unlady-like slouching and, yes, nodding off. Still, more often than not, she found her mind wandering to the past.

As a Guardian, she had absolute control over her world. Or rather, near absolute. She too was subject to a force greater than herself, the Balance. How strange that something so delicate could halt the might of one such as herself; yet the same was true of all her bretheren. Because equillibrium must exist does not mean that a status quo was always in play. Nature by design favors entropy with rare bouts of stability peppered in for kicks. While those last two statements seem to contradict one another, they really don't. Something is always happening, as a result always causes something else to happen and so on into infinity.

The real challenge lay in making sure this domino effect didn't become a snowball effect. Snowballs rolling downhill tend to grow too large too quickly resulting in bad things for whatever lay at the foot of said hill. That, she decided, was the simplest way to explain it to mortals. It was how she explained things to Kent Nelson 3 or 4 decades ago. Despite that, despite having reduced the whole point of her existence down to a slogan that could fit on a t-shirt, the supposedly 'superior' Nabu didn't get it. In hindsight, it wasn't his fault. Though still a child to her, the long lived entity was too set in his ways, his rigid black and white veiw of the world won't allow him to see past his own non existant nose. Too used to having his way which translated into his being the only right way. Pfft. Look where it got him: a place in a "young girl's" toy box.

Gently guiding the pieces in place for them to all meet wasn't hard. All she really had to direct was the creation of the League, the Light followed as a counter measure to fight them. She simply speed up the time frame in which Krypton exploded to coincide with the terror that was Parallax coming to the attention of the Corp. Kept the Earth off of the radar of the Thanagarians (criminal and law enforcing alike) until about the time racial tension boiled over on Mars prompting the planning of an Earth Invasion. She distracted the clay made warrior princess from her wonderings about life beyond he shores of her home to exactly three years after a certain blonde discovered being caught in the shower of a random assortment of chemicals just as lightening happened to be passing through them didn't kill him but made him faster. Only a few years before that, a dark city yielded a Dark Knight to protect it; born of a tragedy that ironically skewed his own ability to interact with others. Gaia also made sure another blonde's hard knock life prepared him to be the leader of a great but stagnant race that needed to learn that prophecies were often self-fulfiling therefore could be rendered moot; nothing was ever set in stone. Too bad that lesson didn't quite carry over...

If she were honest with herself, Gaia had to admit that this wasn't how she wanted things to turn out. But, there was no other way. The formation of the Justice League and by association the Light was to be a way to regulate the emense forces due to convene on that tiny blue marble in the milky way. Though she ultimately ran things, the finer details were left up to her children. This meant the eventual creation of Young Justice. Her boys devised their 'game' based upon the fact that they each represented a different facet or Affinity that contributed to the Balance; darkness, light and neutrality. Black, white and grey. And it hurt to know that at one point, she only had two boys who were once both grey. Yes, it was odd as far as chaos mages went but it worked just fine for them. Until that catalyst for all this nonsense occured.

Even before the debacle that would leave the heart of one of her dear boys a frozen wasteland and both of his daughters vengeful and disturbed individuals, she and her brother Vishnu never did see eye to eye. Her four armed sibling was stubborn, egocentric, prideful and as cruel as the day was long. Of all of the Guardians, he was the only one who chose to cultivate his reality without the benefit of Mages. Literally on in tens of hundreds of trillions. For billions of years, Vishnu oversaw his realm alone; believing that creating such beings to be a waste of time and energy...until he saw the cracks along his Infinity Mirror. The first signs of an impending reset. Rather than admit how foolish he had been and simply allow the reset, he made it worse. In his defense, his actions had an adverse affect on his mind too.

Mind you, this was after several 'cosmic hiccups'. Planets moved about, were erased or reconfigured. Whole galaxies winked in and out of existance. The same with the beings in his reality. This oversight was how Shiva and Kali came to meet her Gemini. They began their lives as mortals; twins born on a planet that saw them as a curse. There it was thought that multiples that looked alike were souls torn in half. As such, they were wicked creatures that yearned to be whole. To fill the void within, they were said to devour the souls of good people. Because of this, they were orphaned and lived as outcasts alone in a forest.

The two were playing near their home one day when a tear in reality opened and sucked them inside. Depositing them directly on top of Castor while he was swimming in the pool at her palace. Pollux, who had been experimenting with creating new flowers in the garden not far away, laughed until he was gasping for air. The silver stems he made bursting into glowing blue blooms as he rolled along the ground.

"Not funny!" He growled once the managed to get the two to he edge of the pool. "How did they get here?"

The brothers examined the nearly drowned girls. Twins, like them but not really. The girls were mortal, the boys eternal. The girls were mirror images dressed in rags; on in blue, one in red. To the casual observer the Gemini were night and day dressed in fine yet simple robes. Having never encountered mortals before they were naturally curious. The one in red opened her eyes first...and screamed bloody murder at the sight of Castor.

"Demon!" She shreiked.

"Oy! I'm not a demon!" he fumed, a vein throbbing in his foehead from the remark

"But, you're blue!"

"And you're bronze! What's your point!?" Pollux snorted in his brother's defense. "And you're tresspassing! How did you get here?"

And this was the sight that greeted The Lady as she went out for her daily stroll. She was taking it earlier than usual because of the disturbance she sensed. Her boys on oneside of the pavillion path, two girls on the other. Both sides shouting like the impulsive children they were at the time. Even if two of said children older than some stars.

As time went on, she saw Shiva and Castor grow close, despite their rocky first steps. She told him of the cruelty she suffered and he felt terrible that her life was so hard. Gradually, his feeling for her changed from pity to a deep fondness. Dare she say love. The sight made Gaia dread the enevitable, sending the girls home. The unwritten law among her kind had always been basically 'mind your own business'. No one was to interfer with the realm of another nor what belonged in it save being asked to do so. She knew she could not keep the girls here. The length of time it took to find their origin equalled quite a few lifetimes of even the longest lived creatures. It took quite bit of her power to keep them from wasting away; this plane was meant only for immortals. But the signature they gave off was so warped she had trouble locating their home world. After sifting through the endless realms of her kin, she found theirs. Instantly, her sense of dread grew tenfold. How would her cantankerous brother react to the situation? Perhaps would not notice if she made sure to put them right back at the point in time they vanished? What Castor did next, however, did NOT help the situation.

He broke the one true taboo in the name of following his heart, by giving it to the girl he loved.

If only she had known then that a small but sincere token of affection would create such havoc...none of this would be happening now...

"Oh, it's so pretty!" Shiva awed at the blood red stone fashioned into the image of a serpent coiled around a gold sphere. " You really want to waste something so valuable on me?"

"It's nowhere near as valuable as you Shiva. It's a talisman, to protect you and Kali when you get home. People will leave you alone now. And if you hold it to your chest and call out to me, I'll always hear you, I'll come to you if you need me. We'll never really be apart." He hugged her. "I love you, I wish we could stay like this forever."

"I do to Castor. I love you so much, I wish we could stay." She sobbed. The young girl knew it wasn't possible. Only by thier mother's grace had they survived in this plane. Only those unbound by the mortal coil could truly live in this place. This lovely sanctuary was meant for gods. Not the likes of her and Kali. Still, she held on to the hope that they could make this work. That their love would last.

A hope Vishnu would destroy out of spite.

While the four armed diety did not notice the girls being displaced, he certainly noticed their return. And he was furious that his sister dared to bridge their realms however breifly, for whatever reason. Feeling the energy Shiva's parting gift gave off was the real clincher. The nerve of that brat tampering with what belonged to him! He had to redress this slight to his ego. No matter how little sense it made to one of rational mind.

Vishnu tampered with the gift and caused the talisman to fail, blocking it's power to protect them or even call the Chaos Mage. As the sisters slept, people from a nearby town closed in and set fire to their hut. A man had appeared to them claiming to know where the devil children were. That killing them would bring prosperity back to their land. Of course it was really Vishnu in disguise. The twins survived the fire but were chased through the woods and got seperated. Kali, the one in blue, was caught and tortured to find her sister but refused to help them. The next morning, Shiva found her sister hacked to pieces; killed like an animal. Collapsing by her body, all she could do was cry. The only person she could trust, the only one who was always with her...now she was all alone! Why didn't he come? Didn't he love her?

_"Child, you need not be sad." A deep voice said soothingly behind her. Before she could really process what was happening, strong arms lifted her up, cradling her like a doll as third hand stroked her hair. "She is not lost."_

_"But He said- He said it would protect us!" She sobbed, clutching her gift. Through tearful eyes, she stared at in in confusion._

_"That bobble is but a pretty piece of rock and metal my dear. It has no power." The man embracing her sighed convincingly. "But, if you would like my child, I can give you both the means to be powerful. To exact your revenge and never be helpless again."_

_"My sister is dead! No one can revive the dead!"_

_"No mortal. But I am the supreme ruler of this world. Without me the suns do not rise or set. Your sorrow called to me, and I saw how this world has treated you. I am sorry you suffered so my dear Shiva. But all you must do is accept me as your father to recieve the means to make things right."_

_After a moment of contemplation, she dared to look at the face of the one offering her so much. Then threw herself against his bare chest wailing uncontrollably._

_Thus, the Goddess of Destruction was born. Followed soon by the Goddess of Death. Their first act was to lay their home planet to waste._

"Shiva, I came as soon as you called." Castor appeared before the young girl. "What's wr-"

Believing the girl he loved to be in danger, he crossed the dimensional divide in a panic to aid her. In retrospect, a foolish idea. The instant the portal closed, Castor found himself unable to move. Bound by a web of ethereal threads, his body locked up and would no longer obey him.

"All I wanted was to be with you. But you just wanted something to amuse you." Shiva glared at him. Taking the pendant from under her shirt, she threw it at his face. "You lied to me! I could have stayed with you!"

"Shiva, you know we can't be together, not that way. We aren't the same-" He tried to reason with her.

"You could have made me like you! I know you could have! If you loved me you would have! She died because of you and your lies!"

Something was very wrong. And it wasn't just that the sweet shy girl he adored seemed to have been replaced with a dopplganger. As far a he knew, she was no mystic. She had no powers. So how had she trapped him like this? And why did her hair seem to be alive? The aura eminating from her was so dark and full of hate, the exact opposite of the warm inviting one she had the day she landed on his head.

"That's right. If you loved her, why not at least give her the power she so desperately needed to defend herself before you cast her to the wolves?" A deep voice chuckled from somewhere in the forest. "Or keep her safe with you? The answer is obvious. She was only a plaything to you!"

"What?! Who are you to say such things? I love Shiva, whoever you are!" Castor growled.

"Really now? Then explain why you gave her such a weak charm to protect her and Kali? It did nothing to save her from the angry villagers who butchered her a few nights ago." The voice taunted.

"No! That can not be true! It was infused with the strongest spell I could cast!"

And indeed it was. But, as he would one day learn, Guardian trumps Mage. Almost everytime.

At the time, none of this was known to her son. That one he should be able to consider family was so warped and twisted, so upset by his innocent 'tresspass' that he couldn't allow him to be with the girl he loved. Going so far as to let her sister die so that he would look like the merciful hero, and Castor the heartless villian just to feed his own pride. He broke free of his bindings in time to defend himself from a trident aimed for his heart. The pointed staff clanging against a chain connected to his right wrist, the broken end held by his left hand.

"I don't know what this creep told you Shiva but I would never hurt you. You're not a toy."

"I refuse to hear more of your lies you bastard. Die! Dance of Torrents!"

The broad jet of water that emerged from her weapon became a snake, thrumming with energy before it slammed into his chest. For a moment, he had no idea what was up and what was down. Not that it mattered, the pain was terrible. Like the water was laced with thousands of tiny ice needles that passed right through him. Once his senses returned, he was face down several feet away.

"Never come here again brat. This world is mine to command and you have no place in it." Vishnu sneered, holding the talisman in one hand. In an instant, he crushed it into a fine powder, scattering it to the wind. With a wave of his hand, the young mage was forced through a portal back to his world. Where he landed in an ungraceful heap on the pavillion.

"Cas! Cas what happened?! Is Shiva okay?" Pollux ran towards his unmoving brother. The blue teen lay facing up with his eyes open but hollow. "Say something! Who attacked you?"

"She did this to me Pollux." His voice was soft and distant. Without another word, he stood and teleported to his room. Leaving his confused brother standing by the pool.

For a long time, he would not leave his room. Several stars had been born, aged and died in that timespan. All Gaia's attempts to talk to him were met with silence or the barrier he errected around the doorway flaring to life. Though it was in her power to shatter it, she respected her son's wishes and did not intrude. She would later regret her actions. During that time, she felt a warp in the balance. The remedy for which happened to be the birth of Sagittarius; an event that confused her. The new mage could sense the unrest and ill feelings coming from one of his elder brothers but said nothing. Chosing instead to follow the one with a happier aura around like alost puppy.

After what felt like forever, Castor did emerge. But something was different. His eyes were still hollowed but there was no sadness hiding within them. Nor was there anything else. No playfulness, no joy, not even a hint of anger or fear. Lady Gaia noticed it immediately, horrified by what she saw. Her expression confused her other children. So did the unholy scream she emitted. Pollux had never seen his mother cry, nor look as fearful as she did at that moment. Sagittarius was just as perplexed.

"Son, what have you done?! Dear affinity tell me you didn't-" She gasped looking into his eyes, praying this was some kind of illusion. But alas, one of her worst fears stood before her with a vacant expression on his face.

"I assumed you would be pleased mother." He looked up at her with those hollow black orbs. "I am no longer in pain. Hmm... it seems I was mistaken." Silently, he walked around his shaking mother, never caring to notice the distressed trio he left in his wake.

Damn you Vishnu! That was all she could think as she sank to the ground, unable to stop the tears. How could she not see this, stop it?!

"Mama, why are you crying? What's wrong with big brother?" Sagittarius asked innocently, still very much only a young child. "Pollux said he'd be lots of fun when I finally got to meet him."

"Mother, what...what was that?!" Pollux knelt beside her. His twin's behavior, as well as their mother's, terrified him. Gaia said nothing in response. She didn't know what to tell them.

After all, how could she explain that her once lively child had rid himself of his sorrow...by cleaving his heart from his soul and casting it into the Ether?

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break.*

Well, now we know what happened between Castor and Shiva, why they are the way they are, and just how fucked up in the head Vishnu really is. Plus, how Sagittairus was born. We'll see how Castor met Sylphine sometime soon too. Read and review, Sirensoundwave out!


	30. Panic Switch

Hey ya'll. Sorry the update took so long, health issues (see my profile).

I originally told you guys that I had to redo my creation of Cam's (Icicle Jr's) Deva story from the Chalk Outline chapter before I published it.. If anyone wants to know what it was, check out chapter 6 of Nightfall BUT be sure to observe the rating AND summary warnings for that story.

Last chapter had a recap of the plot, this is a recap of the various belief systems used in this story... and a few odds and ends people have PMed about. I will bore no one who does not care. So, the chapter starts after the *END* line break.

I'm using the attributes of the Greek Zodiac for the Chaos Mages of the Young Justice-verse, with a wide margin of liberties. All the signs occur in intermediary periods between the seasons:

Pisces (The Fish) is a water sign that occurs as winter wanes and spring arises. Those born under water signs are emotional and sympathetic. Mirrors have the same magical properties as water.  
Gemini (The Twins) is an air sign that occurs as spring wanes and summer arises. Air signs represent strong communication and social ties. Their chain weapon symbolizes their eternal bond.  
Virgo (The Maiden) is an earth sign that occurs as summer wanes and falls arises. Earth signs are practical and cautious. The word for "spell' and "song played with or sung accompanying a lyre" in ancient greek is the same.  
Sagittarius (The Archer) is a fire sign that occurs as fall wanes and winter arises. Fire signs have a strong desire to express themselves and hold faith well. He has the same weapon as his alter ego.  
Epsilon is just the name of the brightest star in the Sagittarius constellation. He has the same favored weapon of his female human self, Cheshire. He is the weakest and youngest mage with the ability to 'whisper' or affect the minds of others.

Lady Gaia's name is an alternative spelling of the Goddess Gaea in Greek mythology, the embodiment of nature; specifically the Earth.

The OC Mages Sylphine and Gabriel have blended mythos in their names and powers. Sylphine literally means "Of the Wind Sprites" and her affinity is Light but her powers lean towards a weather theme. Her symbols are rainbows (in many cultures they represent bridges to other worlds, the sun) and butterflies (Asian cultures: souls or messengers of good and bad omens; others see them as agents of life, renewal and change) while her favorite color is gold (the sun).

In Hebrew, Gabriel literally means "Hero/Warrior of God" and his Affinity is Darkness but his powers seem to reflect this better than his sister. His symbols are ravens (embodies knowledge, death and fate) as well as the crescent moon (mystery, the night, change) and his favored color is silver (the moon).

As far as tradition goes, their roles are reversed. The sun is usually a male deity while the moon is female in most pantheons. Their weapons also look too delicate to be harmful to an opponent. Sylphine's two tessen and Gabriel's massive parasol are able to channel their powers as well as hurt like a bitch if they hit you.

There is a lot of color magic used in this story too (Krishna's flute, spell/aura colors). Some colors are interchangeable. The meanings are taken from the modern day Wicca uses:

Red: Fire (Southern Point), Passion, Romantic Love, Blood Health, Excitement, and Energy  
Orange: Creativity, Warmth, and Togetherness, Success, and Concentration  
Yellow: Air (Eastern Point), Happiness, Bright feelings, Morning-type energy, Fame, and Instant Energy  
Green: Earth (Northern Point), Health, Money, Wealth, Nature, Emotional Health, and Success  
Blue: Water (Western Point), Calm, Intellect, Sleep Inductive and Stress-Relief  
Purple: Psychic Energies, Influence, Business Matters, Higher Education, and Faithfulness  
Pink: Innocent Love, Flirtation, New Love, Self-Love  
Gold: Sun, Success, Masculine/God Energies, and Power  
Silver: Moon, Psychic Energies, Feminine/Goddess Energies, and Protection  
Brown: Grounding, and Connecting with the Earth  
Black: Deep Meditations, Solitude, Invisibility [of secrets, etc], and Ridding Negativity  
White: (Center) All-Purpose, Protection, and Cleansing

In the Hindu faith, for some gods there is a bit of gender ambiguity. Vishnu is the supreme deity with four arms. Kali represents death and wields a curved sword. Shiva represents destruction and holds a trishula, a three pronged spear. The two are linked as one cannot exist without the other. Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu created by his will and embodies divine love, often represented as a mischievous child with a flute.

Wales is a real place, part of the United Kingdom; the valley and shore where Robin and Pisces lived and died is not. The 'beyonders' referenced by Pisces are Roman soldiers that made landfall in the British Isles more than a 1000 years ago. It was an attempt to expand their empire, a historical fact. I'm just fuzzy on exactly when and where in the UK they arrived so I used creative licensing. Totally made up the domino auk bird species.

Yes, Virgo does have a creation story. And yes, it is rather sad how she lived and died; it's sort of a prerequisite for these guys. I will reveal it soon, don't worry. She and Pisces lived during the same era in time but in different locations. Hint: she didn't always have blond hair and blue eyes, the form she took once reborn is a way to distance herself as much as possible from the pain of her past. Her old body looked nothing like she does now.

Once again, I am just using portions of different faiths and beliefs and apologize to anyone who is of a particular religion mentioned that I may offend. If it helps, I am agnostic (not the same as atheist...) and believe there is something greater than ourselves out there but subscribe to no one religion's set of beliefs. Like the Mages in my story, I think there is truth to whatever spiritual path one chooses to follow so long as it does not harm others. n_n

Chapter titles...are my own interpretations of song meanings, be it the whole song or the verse(s) originally published in the story. For all those nice enough to ask instead of criticize, here are my reasons.

Satellite: Kinda like a wake up call; beyond what you see, something big is happening.

Monsters: Little bit of foreshadowing, these people are working behind the scenes.

Teenagers: The league jumping to the wrong conclusions about YJ

Kick in the Teeth: Two fold; the literal in how shocked the heros are about Roy. And how this experience will benefit them in the long run, even if it doesn't seem like it now.

Divide: Creating rifts in the status quo; destroying stereotypes.

Pumped Up Kicks: The song is about a guy who just goes off and shoots a lot of people but no one understands why he did it.

The Kids Aren't Alright: Begins the series of chapters examining just what's wrong in their relationships.

Perfect: Robin's view that he has to be 'perfect' to matter to anyone, especially Bruce.

Burn: How hurt Conner is after his dream...and how betrayed and angry he was to learn it was actually a vision of what could have been.

Welcome to the Family: Calm, cool and collected Kaldur's hidden rage is exposed when his powers overwhelm Artemis during the power swap and she attacks Aquaman, knocking a few Leaguers about like toys in the process. It ends when him learning his King is also his cousin.

White Rabbit: Alice in Wonderland theme for Artemis. Trying to avoid repeating harmful mistakes but continuing to fall down the rabbit hole anyway.

The Catalyst: A society on the verge of self destruction...and how Megan feels powerless to stop it; escape is her only option.

Mad World: Raquel's childhood losses and where she grows up almost destroy her future.

Made of Scars: Zatanna's self harming behavior and her vow to get back at Dr. Fate for stealing her father's body.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Wally pondering the possible train wreck to come when his other life and his deception are revealed soon.

You're Gonna Go Far Kid: Massive case of what you see is NOT what you get.

Deify: How far Nabu was willing to go to preserve his delusion of the correct order regardless of the cost; and what the Zodiac Knights went through to prove him wrong and labelled evil because of it.

Master of Puppets: How in the end, despite Nabu's devious manipulations of others, it resulted in him becoming another's plaything.

Get Out Alive: Boreugwyn and Blodyndwr's failure to do so in a past life, Lex and Bee never even realizing their impending doom and foreshadowing of the past coming back to bite you in the ass.

Your Betrayal: Mainly hinting at Castor and Shiva's past...and confusion among the League when Cas saves their asses.

Misery Business: Another stab at Cas and Shiva, this time introducing where Sylphine fits into the drama. Foreshadowing of what happens after Billy's soul is stolen.

One X: How the way we imagine our lives and how they really are often don't match up; the dismay we feel because of it. .

Leave Out All the Rest: The story of how much Jade loves her sister; willing to sell her soul to give the younger girl a better chance and accepting the things she cannot change. Artemis learning and reacting to what Sagittarius did to and for them both.

Frontline: Conner's vison of the coming battle, how far their powers may go and possible allies from another realm.

Land of Confusion: YJ takes a stand, refusing to be held back anymore just because they are younger; only this generation can put things right.

Chalk Outline: Sylphine and Gabriel showing the League that that bad things happen all the time; no matter what. Order is an illusion and not every crime can be avenged by mortal means; especially if no mortal knows it was commited. Cam (Icicle Jr) was actually murdered as a child by his father and had been haunting him in an attempt understand why and to get him to confess.

Move Along: The aftermath of learning the world doesn't work quite the way the League thought.

Sinner: Krishna shows how much like his father he can be; violent and twisted.

Schism: Examining just how the mages of Vishnu and Gaia's worlds came to be and why they are the way they are.

For anyone curious, this story is about the whole YJ universe but focuses mainly on Wally/Pollux and Klarion/Castor. By extention, this also means their relationships will get most if not all of the romantic spotlight; Castor/Sylphine and Gabriel/Pollux/Artemis. This thing would go on forever if I went too deep into the others.

*END*

Okay, I watched part of the last YJ episode and went...are they reading my mind? Seriously, the similarity was eerie in terms of where this story and the show are going. Still, I decided to keep things the way they are and not worry about it. My idea is my idea and besides, my version's a bit more direct. Don't know what I'm talkin about? S'okay, you'll see. The soundtrack today is the Silversun Pickups' Panic Switch.

Chapter 30  
Panic Switch

"What the hell is that?!" Hal Jordan exclaimed. The main screen on the communications deck showed a large black dome crackling with energy where the coordinates clearly read Metropolis. The sprawling city had been completely engulfed by whatever it was; the only signs of life being the birds flying overhead that avoided the mass like the plague.

After Batman passed along the order to shut down the Zeta Transport, the league was pretty much fragmented. Only Jordan, Flash, Zatara, Blue Beetle and Mr. Terrific were on board. Everyone else was on patrol or minding their own beeswax. Young Justice was of course at the Mountain but the mages...

It bothered Jordan and several others to no end that the Mages could come and go as they pleased not because they were trustworthy and granted access but because there was no way to keep them out. The creepy one with white hair seemed to enjoy fucking with him in particular. Always appearing behind him quite as the grave and shouting-

"Yo!"

On instinct, Hal whipped around, constructing a shield, ready for battle.

"Calm down. Sheesh, it's only me." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Not really reassu-" the Lantern muttered.

"What's going on?" Terrific cut him off as he entered the hub. "The scanners can't read what the hell that is but it's where Superman's turf is supposed to be."

"It's a nexus point. They are what we use to crossover into other realities. Problem is, one's NOT supposed to be that big. Vishnu's trying to merge not bridge this world and his."

"That sounds bad." Flash frowned.

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe it man. The instant it formed, Aunt Gaia blacked out cold and won't wake up; the Knights are going crazy. The Bastard was already draining her now she's holding everything together at the cost of her ability to stay conscious."

"So, now our world is literally hanging by a thread of sheer will. Outstanding." Zatara shook his head.

"Uh...guys? I think thing just got worse." Flash motioned to the image on screen. The blackish purple mass was still there but the top began to emit a beacon; a very wide column of white light. Slowly, something bright red and about the size of a building formed. A 3D projection rotating like a revolving door inspired a deep dread in the 4 heroes.

Superman's logo.

*I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!**I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!**I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!**I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Elsewhere on board, oblivious to the chaos occurring on the planet below and the deck above him, Blue Beetle sat at his computer analyzing the data he's taken from observing the Young Justice team and the Mages; much to Booster's chagrin. The fact that he could stand to be in the same room as 'those manipulative assholes that warped 7 good kids into who knows what" boggled his lover's mind. Though Booster had mellowed some after being reminded that his own time travel agenda had been the greatest self promotion scam in history at first. The blond pouted and crossed his arms like a defeated child; he was still wary of them and the time Ted spent with them.

Rocket's inertia belt was now more of a focusing mechanism than the actual source of her abilities. Simply stated, she could bend the laws of physics allowing her to generate force fields (that could attack OR defend), fly and to some extent make constructs like a Lantern but not nearly as well defined. It was already known that she could warp space giving her the power to teleport but to some degree she could form temporal bubbles too; pockets of space where time can be sped up, slowed down or completely stopped. Unfortunately she wasn't very good at it. No, she really wasn't very good at it. While gathering his data, Ted found himself about 24 hours younger than he should have been when her demonstration got out of hand and time for everything within a mile of Mt. Justice lept forward in timespace by a day. With immense concentration she could do small things like speed up the clock to rust metal, slow it down to give her time to catch something or stop it to immobilize say a bird in flight.

Using time manipulation took a lot out of her and it wasn't guaranteed that what she wanted to do is what actually happened. The more mass something had, the harder it was for her to teleport it. And the fatal flaw of her force fields was they could not handle rapid shifts in the pressure exerted on them. This was how Sagittarius' arrow pierced it; he had punched and kicked it with the same force as Superman would have; enough to knock a 747 down a runway at 200 mph. Nanoseconds later he shoved a single arrow through with the same power as a regular human stabbing something. By decreasing the force he used in the blink of an eye, there was no time to cope.

Robin had limited precognition, the power to create waves of energy that affected chance (and packed a punch) and could amplify emotions he absorbed convert them into energy. This is how he was able to go from doe eyed kid to powerhouse and almost kill his adopted father in an attempt to get to Tony Zucco. But, the only power he could fully control was the chance thing. The emotion amp had the potential to overwhelm and turn him into a dangerous dynamo obliterating everything in his path. Still, he could use it with about a 87% control rate; way higher than for his precognition...which was 0%. Robin had no way to turn it on or off on demand. Instead, it seemed to work in proportion to the level of danger an event a few moments or hours in the future presented. Detect when a car is about to jump the curb and mow over himself or a civilian? Yes. Keep him from tripping and embarrassing the hell out of himself? Nope.

According to his mother, Robin's powers would grow with time. He'd gain more control over the emotional amp but no one in her family had the ability to predict the future exactly when they wanted.

Superboy's tactile telekinesis expanded to include flight and non-tactile telekinesis. He was also a precog like Robin..sort of. The Boy Wonder saw the immediate future with crystal clarity; Connor saw days, months and likely years down the road however, he saw possibilities of things to come not a future set in stone. Sometimes only parts of his visions came true-like with his refusal to train with his 'father' earlier in the year. The 3 months he spent with Lois and Clark, the argument he over heard and the subsequent feelings of betrayal (technically) did not occur. Lois learning of how Clark treated Connor then calling off the engagement, the roasting Clark's avatar and being able to connect to Megan while several states apart did happen. And while he could (with great effort) try to predict something, it was at best a vision with holes in it and at worst utterly useless. Sagittarius told them that the hybrid was seeing the future the way a mage does; a winding series of tangled paths, each a 'could be' or a 'will be' constantly altered by the ebb and flow of cause and effect. Of choices and free will. Only Connor lacked the eons of experience required to correctly process what he saw.

His and Miss Martian's psychic abilities merged too. Both their greatest strength and greatest weakness; attack the mind of one and cripple the other as well. The two were also unable to deal with direct physical attacks very well...at least psychically. Both could fight hand to hand and Connor was damn near indestructible but their force fields were rather vulnerable, like Rocket's. Unlike her though their weakness came from both needing to be completely in sync to sustain it. When Sagittarius attacked, only Superboy tried the shield (unconsciously) but it failed to protect either of them. Miss Martian's abilities regarding altering her physiology were now far beyond her uncle's, she could be anyone or thing she wanted to. The martian girl and the kryptonian hybrid were quite happy together. Well, as happy as a couple could be with the threat of an apocalypse hang over their heads.

Aqualad needed the most work in terms of his powers. Though, it was good that his general disposition was calm and he'd had training in meditation. His powers were completely tied to his emotions, which made it so nice that he had practice at reigning them in. What was not good was the suppressing of his feelings made them that much more determined to rise to the surface. For all his training, that's really all he knew how to do; despite the impression that they gave, Atlanteans were more of a sweep it under the rug type of civilization. Pisces had done wonders with helping him. The first issues were working though his shame and anger over his heritage, his shaken faith in his King and finally truly dealing with the deaths of Gesparj and Adri'an. Accepting that none of it was his fault was still an uphill battle.

His hydrokinesis had expanded a great deal. Before he could manipulate water density with his bearers as hilts and affect the temperature of water locally but not by much. Now, he could form ice and cause an entire pool to boil. His water balls could be as strong and solid as steel if he wanted. His energy blasts were still rather broad...they tended to take out way more than the intended target. Most likely because it took intense emotion to activate. Overnight, he had become a heavy hitter; someone you called when you wanted wholesale destruction not a surgical strike.

Zatanna's sorcery was in league with her fathers which made Blue Beetle pause. The children really weren't any more powerful than the league, just better suited to match the the Mages. He wasn't sure how to explain it in his notes but in an all out brawl between the two, he'd put his money on Zatara. But, the older spell caster didn't last five minutes against Virgo in a spar where as Zatanna was winded but didn't get pummeled. The Dagger of Hecate was like an amplifier and without it, her power level plunged. There wasn't much more to tell really. Her improved spirits were positive though. She spent as much time as she could with her now freed parent.

The case of Artemis was kind of strange too. Her powers on the surface were just like a Green Lantern's. But she needed no ring or power source to recharge. Like many of the others, her emotions made her stronger but were also a hinder if she got too upset. She'd never shown any superhuman abilities before this-even Rocket and Robin had an inkling that they were very different than most humans before this whole fiasco even if they initially denied it. Sagittarius had given her powers in exchange for the soul of her sister Cheshire (another thing that repulsed Booster; said it made for the plot of a horror flick, demons selling power for souls). Naturally learning this kind of set the blonde asian american girl off. But discovering the full circumstances of this deal renewed her faith in her sister and brought the two archers closer. Though no one in their right mind would say that to her face.

The Mages themselves were a whole other animal, even the ones he 'knew' before this. One would assume that they were a unified force in complete harmony but that was a total misconception. Their relationships with each other and by extent the League and Young Justice were a myriad of complexities. What he knew of them wasn't so much empirical data as observation of a cosmic soap opera.

For starters, the two from another reality were alone. Meaning, they had no servants like their native counterparts. Sylphine had explained to him that she and Gabriel did have servant mages but they opted to leave them to take up the roles they had to abandon to come here. Her previous adventure had also called her away from home so they felt it best to give their mother, Lady Aurii, more support this time.

The golden eyed Light Mage was also Castor's 'match'. Yes, it was creepy as hell that 'Klarion the Witchboy' essentially had a wife...who prefered to appear as a young girl no older than 10 or 11 (which inspired comments from several league members that he was a pedophile of some sort and she took this form to please him). Sylphine was a glaring example of don't judge a book by it's cover. Even in her true form she was very small, barely 5'3" with long legs and such a sweet, innocent smile that lulled one into a false sense of security. The golden butterflies that seemed to randomly appear around her added to the effect. From what he was told of her fighting style during the Watchtower attack though, she was one bad bitch with those fans of hers. From that battle's account he also infered that many of the mages' attacks were probably preceeded by a verbal spell or war cry.

Her standoffish brother Gabriel had ravens that Blue learned lived on the pattern of his parasol but were often seen on his shoulder or flying nearby. He also avoided contact with the heroes as much as he could. Having a similar body frame to Icon helped intimidate others too. The Dark Mage wasn't so much antisocial as he blatantly did not care what happened to the residents of this world. The only reason he was there was because of his sister and Pollux. That story was interesting. He and Kid Flash's alterego had been lovers longer than earth's solar system existed but Gabriel's jealous, possesive nature drove them apart. Which probably explains the friction between Gabriel and Castor, Pollux's twin. It was obvious the red head still cared for him but his interest in Artemis was established way before this enemy showed up. Gabriel also hated the blonde with a passion, it was clear in his eyes everytime he saw her. So was his longing to pin Pollux to the wall and kiss him breathless.

Then there was Pollux himself. Wally was the same person they'd always known. Caring, friendly, fun loving. Though at the same time, he was cold and unfeeling if you looked at it objectively. Who could just stand by and let several thousand kids vanish, knowing what was being done to them probably wasn't good and not do anything? Their reasoning from a logical stand point made sense as cruel as it sounds. Still, it won the Mages no brownie points even if Pollux really seemed upset over it. Also not helping his case? Masquerading as an abused teen aspiring to be like his uncle when in fact he was an ancient being merely living the life of a miscarried child in order to keep tabs on the League and their proteges. Yes, it sounds creepy.

Sagittarius was also rather apathetic to the heroes and their concerns. Being Roy seemed to take a massive amount of effort on his part; he was still sarcastic and sardonic but much more controlled in the emotion he displayed. For about 8 years, he forced himself to be hot tempered and very open about the what he was supposedly feeling when the expected emotions were negative. Now, he rarely smiled unless talking to Epsilon. All his 'witty observations' were delivered deadpan. And much to Superboy's ire, had no intrest in repairing the relationship between Lois and Clark. The one he tore apart to force the hybrid to come into his powers.

The three servants he knew nothing about other than their cover stories and powers. They were more interested in training than in socializing which was understandable given the situation. Pisces was able to invoke aspects of winter and spring, hence her love of plants and control over water. Virgo was the living transition between summer and fall but her powers were sound and music related. Something Blue Beetle didn't get but he wasn't a student of myth and legend so what did he know. Lil Epsilon was able to warp minds and compel others to do as wished. Still because he was so young, all he could do was whisper or suggest behaviors to his targets if they were not likley to think a certain way. A gentle nudge not all out control.

The sound of klaxons snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the Earth as the Tower drifted across North America. Spotted with half a dozen shadowed masses.

*I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!**I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!**I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!**I am...bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Yeah...there's more than one. What up with the giant logo? So, was it worth the long wait?

Based on the forshadowing in this chapter, I need a little help deciding the next chapter title. Cult of Personality (In Living Color); The Pit (Silversun Pickups...again); Diamond Eyes or Cry for Help (Shinedown); or The Game (Disturbed). I like em all but I'm leaning towards Cult of Personality and The Game. Whadya guys think? I'll try to remember to put my explaination for this chapter's title in the next one. Reviews welcome and greatly appreciated. Sirensoundwave out.


	31. Cult of Personality

I'm back bitches!

(shrugs)

Okay, got a question about Virgo from a reader who noticed that I mentioned her place of origin earlier in the story. Namely, 'don't Nordic people have blond hair and blue eyes, so why wouldn't her past self?' Excellent question. You'll have to just keep reading n_n.

Now this one's a bit short but it doesn't fit with the next chapter. The last song 'Panic Switch' is pretty self explanatory. Everybody freaks out with no idea what to do. Up next, Cult of Personality by In Living Colour. Yes it's an older song. Deal with it.

Enjoy!

Chapter 31  
Cult of Personality

As on the Watchtower, the cave was rather silent for sometime. Everyone watched the same interesting development but no one had anything to say at first.

"I'll be damned." Out of the blue, Virgo pursed her lips as the enormous diamond enclosed S appeared above the city of Metropolis.

"What happened to my city?!" Superman on the other hand kinda spazzed out. Understandable in his case though; his ex-fiance, whole damned city swallowed up by a foreign inky mass... "And why is my shield over that monstrosity?!"

"Think about it boy scout." Sagittarius sighed. With a lazy wave of his hand, the monitor shifted to a national news network. "Something tells me this powder keg just went off."

"Breaking news! The cities of Metropolis, Star, Dakota, New York, Apex*, Central, Gotham and Fawcett have been completely cut off! No communications are able to penetrate these strange black domes of energy. Even more shocking, the emblems of each city's patron hero hovers over these masses." A reporter spoke, clearly trying to keep his composure. "This reporter is live, one mile from what used to be Metropolis . As you can see, the structure is so massive, it can clearly been seen even at this distance."

The neutral mage waved again, ignoring Robin's sputtering at the mention of Gotham. As well as the batglare he got from the young boy and glowing eyes of the Man of Steel for changing the station. He knew the little bird was terrified for his father and grandfather figures, that Clark was worried about Lois and his whole town but there was something else on his mind.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Though it brings me no joy, no satisfaction, I come before you today with evidence that my views on the highly questionable nature of our planet's 'heroes' were well founded. As we speak, the home turf of eight Justice League members have vanished under a barrier of strange energy...The military has just confirmed another one in the Pacific Ocean as well. Towering over each mass is the crest of a JLA member. As far as experts can tell, there are no signs of life within but I urge everyone to hope they are wrong. Let us pray that though they have subverted the faith many held, that they have not resorted to murder." Gordon...Something or Something Gordon prattled on in his ever overly melodramatic way. He couldn't remember the man's name and amid the frenzy, the network forgot to put it on screen, so he went with the one he'd given him during his days as Speedy. Attention Whore.

The young heroes were all suddenly very alarmed. Their home towns were, for all intents and purpose, gone. Vishnu was playing dirty and they were taking the bait.

"Auntie Nora!" Rocket gasped. Her belt lit up like Christmas tree. The older woman had just asked her to bring Augustus and Kaldur over for dinner tonight.

"Oh my god my mother!" Artemis' aura flared wildly, whipping out around her. Her mother was at work, it was only 2 in the afternoon.

"Uncle Jonn went home to meditate, oh no!" Miss M began to hyperventilate, her control of her form momentarily slipping as she literally turned white as snow.

"Atlantis...dear Neptune." Aqualad's markings pulsed steadily as he fought not to go off and level the cave. This was not happening. He'd lost his family just after finding it again.

"Daddy please pick up..." Zatanna was frantically dialing her father on her cell phone, the screen made blurry by her tears. She knew her father reported to the Watchtower but that was hours ago. What if...

"What the hell?! I gotta get to Gotham, now!" Robin panicked as he ran towards the computer, dead set on activating the Zeta tubes. Only to be yanked back by his cape. "Remove your hand or I'll do it for you!" Blues eyes began to bleed black.

"Yeah...slow your roll birdboy." Sagittarius rolled his eyes. "First of all, if Bats is in there, you ain't gettin him out, case closed. Second, think for two seconds. This was done to try and lure you all to them, they know you're a threat together but splitting you all up is in their favor. Match confirmed that they've known about your existance for sometime. Any of you show up at one of these nexus points, you're as good as dead. Look what Krishna, their weakest mage, did to Superboy and Miss Martian. He tried to take her so-... sonnuva bitch." The archer had frozen mid-statement before cursing in a somewhat subdued manner and letting go of Robin's cape. Something in his mind just clicked, pieces falling into place. The look on his face was a mix of shock, horror and anger. The abrupt pause in his rant did not ease the tension in the room one bit.

"Master?" Epsillon, who'd been pretty much forgotten about, tugged the red head's robe.

"I think I know what really happened to Billy. And all that power Four Arms stole from mother. If I'm right, we are so much further up shit creek than we thought."

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Standing alone in a field of sweet potato plants, a woman with long black hair gasped at her surroundings. Just like she remembered it as a very young child. Her Ba's** house where she played while her Me*** worked long hours in the city far away. She sent them money when she could but she missed her mother dearly. The house had faded with time, Ba long since passing on but was still her own escape. Without much thought as to how or why, Paula Crock walked between the crops, following the sound of two children laughing in the distance. Enjoying the almost forgotten sensation of fertile soil between her toes.

*P*

In another location, another woman found herself brushing her eldest niece's hair as the 10 year old recited her multiplication tables. The child's younger sister sat on the floor coloring Hello Kitty's parka bright pink. Lenora Ervin vaguely recalled that this shouldn't be happening, something was...off. But that notion vanished the instant Raquel held up her finished picture to show she stayed inside the lines this time, beaming proudly. That sweet gap-toothed grin melted her cares away.

*P*

Mera is looking at him, deeply concerned but not for him. Her heart is breaking for the sobbing child in her arms who does not understand why his loved ones left him behind. She sings a lullaby every Atlantean knows about the moon and the sea. His wife would be a wonderful mother, he just knows it. He sees the love in her eyes, the raw maternal instinct come to the surface to comfort Kaldur as he wakes from another night terror. Assuring him that things will be alright. The King vowed to move heaven and sea to make sure it was, despite the nagging feeling something was already wrong.

*P*

Bruce was pretty sure he shouldn't be standing in the hally way leading to his office in his civvies, yet here he was. His secretary jumped a mile as a high pitched squeal drew nearer. Barreling down the corridor was his 8 year old son on the Batman skateboard he'd gotten for his birthday the night before. Alfred hurrying after him, looking somewhat confused himself. A wheel caught a bump in the carpeting and the boy went tumbling end over end to land at the older man's feet. The dizzy little bird wobbled for a moment as he sat up before throwing his arms up, letting out a triumphant hoot and babbling excitedly in Romani. Bruce could only sigh. What was he going to do with the boy?

*P*

The instant Jonn realized he was in his former house on Mars, he knew this was not real. His home had been burned to the ground during a skirmish to stop the White Martian invasion of Earth. His wife and child perished for nothing as the Council ultimately decided the Earth could protect itself...and if it couldn't well the White Menace would finally be off world. He opened his mind, searching for the source generating this vision.

"You could not allow yourself to indulge if only for a moment?" a soft voice asked.

A young woman with seafoam green hair stood near his front door. Pale as chalk, she wore a blue dress fashionably torn and ragged in some areas. All he could see of her face were deep blue eyes above the veil covering everything else.

"Why have you brought me here? This illusion is nothing more than a fantasy. I know it cannot be real."

"That's what all dreams are Jonn. A mix of memories, regrets, fears, desires. The mind's attempt to make sense of the things we feel as well as the information we receive be it from the past, present, future or somewhere in between." She sighed. "You are here because there was no other way for me to reach you. To prevent your becoming a part of Vishnu's regime, you and six others have been sealed within my dream spheres. The consequences of the alternative are too dire. Here you can rest, relive your most treasured memories...or fulfill your greatest desires. If you'd like, merely reflect on your life, the choice is yours."

"Who are you? Your aura is similar to our newest allies."

"I am Lady Psyphire, a daughter of Ebedi." She curtsied.

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Within the realm of Lady Gaia, the worn out Guardian slept fitfully. By her bedside, her oldest sons and her matched daughter.

"Those nexus points are ripping the fabric of this reality apart. The only one strong enough to force them closed is comatose." Sylphine stroked the woman's hair.

"We have to confront Vishnu now or there won't be anything left to save." Pollux growled.

"Yeah but how do we find that bastard, much less stop him?" Castor shifted in agitation. He did not do 'weak and helpless', as an act or in reality. His mother was dying, his love was distraught and his siblings were frustrated. He was at a loss for what to do next.

"We have the answer to that, but you might not like it." The voice of an older man called from behind them. "In fact I am quite sure your mortal associates will despise it."

"Long time no see Syl. Especially in that form." Laughed a younger man.

The mage fond of rainbows and butterflies smiled as she turned to their guests. It had been some time indeed.

"Oidhche, Nikkou likewise."

*I am bum...bum...bum...a line break!*

Enter the mages from the Danny Phantom universe. I'm updating as fast as I can, bear with me. Thanx to everyone who keeps coming back to this story, love you lots n_n. Reviews welcomed and appreciated. Sirensoundwave out.

*I found a delightful, borderline psychotic, rant about what city Martian Manhunter protects while Googling it. You can read it here: absorbascon. blogspot 2008 /03 /where-in-world-in-martian-manhunter .html (sans spaces). I still have no idea so I went with Apex City (what the blogger came up with) as the name. Don't bother correcting me...kinda don't care anymore. I'm lazy, so sue me.

**Grandma in Vietnamese  
***Mother in Vietnamese


	32. Sound of Madness

Hello all! I still live.

First let me apologize for the slow update. RA flared up again. Good news is I'm going to be starting a new med that my doctor is hopeful about. Just as soon as I'm inoculated against everything under the goddamned sun. Apparently, any of the drugs in the last ditch category for rheumatoid arthritis annihilates your immune system since the condition is essentially your body's defenses attacking itself. I hate needles and I hate being sick; already being one to catch more colds and other bugs than my family does not help. The fact that I am going through with this is a testament to how desperate for relief I am. And how little I care about the side effects (look up Embrel injections, some are doozies T_T).

Second I pulled "The Road to Hell" out of my ass but there is a story plan for "Parallels". I don't see this ending before chapter 40 at the shortest. The first part of the story was dedicated to background and plot progression. Expect more of the same from here on out with character development thrown in for good measure n_n

Last chapter was "Cult of Personality", kinda drives home the danger of hero worship...and how quickly a hero can morph into a villain in the eyes of the people. Next up, "The Sound of Madness" by Shinedown. Sorry it's a wee bit short. Onward!

Chapter 32

Sound of Madness

"So, what's this grand revelation?" Castor glared at the new arrivals. This was one pair of cousins he could tolerate but his nerves were a bit...frayed at the moment.

"Krishna. The little bastard has to die." Odhiche shrugged, ignoring his twin's urge to face palm. That white mane simply shook in exasperation.

"Easily done. Once we find the little prick." Castor raised a brow at his cousin's overstatement of the obvious. Sure the kid was powerful but all of them together-

"The problem lies in the cost. For ones such as us, the choice is easy. Those who have risen as this world's champions don't have that luxury." Nikkou sighed, rolling his eyes at his brother's bluntness. He could see how it was grating on his blue tinted cousin's nerves as his match held his hand to calm him. Why were dark mages so infuriating?. "We could totally lie, but there is the issue of the two seers they have. What we don't need is them getting upset and everything going to hell because they feel betrayed...again."

"Well, fortunately, we don't have to say anything, Aunt Gaia took care of that for us. We've been here for sometime, hidden even from you all. Your mother had no way to keep Vishnu from knowing we would fight with you, but she took steps to insure he did not learn exactly when we arrived. That also meant hiding us from you." Red eyes glinted with mischief.

*I am...bum, bum, bum...a line break!*

"What is it now?" Groused Booster Gold. "And who the hell are you two?!"

No one knew or was telling where Batman, Aquaman, or Martian Manhunter were. The native mages, Sylphine, Gabriel and two new faces were present on the deck of the Watchtower with what was left of the League and all of Young Justice.

Great.

"Odhiche." The grey haired man chuckled to himself. "My twin Nikkou and I are here to help." He smiled at the confused looks. Odhiche was was a man in his forties, hence the grey ponty tail. Nikkou was closer to the age "Roy" should have been, his wild black hair combed haphazardly forward. As different as night and day. Then again so were the other sets of Mages.

"You're Vlad Masters! The research company owner Bruce and I have been going to war over." Green Arrow seethed. The same man that wanted him to allow Artemis to be part of some super soldier experiment, which was a deal breaker. He had suspected the mogul had known about and pitched the same idea to Bruce about Richard as well. Hence Wayne Enterprises quickly losing interest in a partnership as. Too bad he couldn't ask his fellow billionaire at the moment. "Should have known."

"You are correct Mr. Queen. My way of getting to know you is all. The extra time it took from your fatherly duties and the friction it caused between the two of you was an unintended bonus for me. Still, the two of you managed to put aside your egos for the sake of Robin and Artemis. Tension aside, well done."

"I am so sick of you all playing games with us. The subterfuge must be your only entertainment." Hal Jordan leveled a glare at Odhiche who responded with a look that clearly said 'And you plan to do what about it?'

"Yes well, I don't care. You may have noticed we dark mages have a somewhat morbid sense of humor. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am a bit more warped than many of my cousins whom I share affinity with. So yes, watching you all in full on panic mode is quite amusing but I digress. Brother dear?" He casually turned to the young man.

Nikkou looked for a moment like he wanted to say something about his twin's attitude but instead let out a short noise of frustration. Steeling himself, he turned to the mortals around him.

"Just, listen. Lady Gaia made this to show you all because she knew she would not be able to tell you in person once it was time." In his palm, he held a star shaped crystal. Once he lifted it above his head, it began to spin like a top. Within the column of light created by the motion, a transparent Lady Gaia appeared.

"Greetings heroes. If you are watching this, then my fears were well founded. This was created in the interest of full disclosure; yes, I did not tell you the whole truth when we introduced ourselves. Just as I did in my discussion with Nabu. To be fair, neither my children or my brother Ebedi's mages knew the full scope of my lie by omission. It is unfortunate that knowing of something terrible to come does not mean you can change it, only deal with it when it arises. For this reason, I have hidden what I knew about the battle to come for the sake of your ease of mind. Do not be angry with my children, this was my decision. You must understand, nothing comes without price. Nor is the way the world works solely black and white. Shades of grey bridge the disconnect. Most if not all of you will greatly dislike what I am about to divulge. To that I say...life ain't fair and whining about it ain't gonna change a damned thing. Suck it up and deal."

Incredulous stares.

The cosmic being they had only seen behave with otherworldly grace had just deadpanned a sarcastic remark. In slang. There were raised eyebrows among the mages too, evidently The Guardian had never spoken so...out of character. The image of Lady Gaia sighed. The small copy closed her eyes and began to explain.

"To begin, what myself or any of my children do is not for the benefit of anyone. Our actions serve to benefit all. We see the course of the future in our mind's eye and act accordingly. We cannot afford to play favorites even with those we have come to care about. The balance of the universe is always at stake. The Earth is special only in regard to the fact that so many different destinies seem to converge here. When I saw that my brother's twisted logic would eventually lead him to attempt a coup of my reign, I chose this planet as the battlefield because it just made sense. You all would have become heroes in some form at some point in time seeds of fate had already been planted, I merely tended the garden.

Krishna was created by Vishnu as you already know, to be his anchor in this world. He has been siphoning power from me for eons but I have been unable to stop it. Vishnu then infused the soul of young Billy Baston with that energy...along with all that is toxic in his own heart. As a result, it cannot be undone. That bright soul is lost, Captain Marvel is truly dead.

Krishna cannot be saved nor healed. He must be destroyed. Yes, for the good of all that this world is, you must forsake a child, one of your own. Yes I knew that this would happen but do not accuse me of being uncaring and idle. Make no mistake, it would have been someone, no matter what I did. I allowed it to be young Billy because though he is powerful in his own right, he can still be defeated. Not easily but the chance is far greater than it would have been with Vishnu's first and second choices had I allowed either to come to pass. Would you rather be fighting an army lead by young Richard or Kaldur once their powers were allowed to fully consume them? The key thing to remember with Billy becoming Krishna is his soul had to be forced to conform, making the transformation flawed."

That hit the heros like a ton of bricks. Some had a frightening realization; if not for the interference of the mages, their own behavior would have driven one or possibly both boys right into the enemies arms. Both felt isolated but refused to show it. One wore a false mask of calm. The other a visage of whimsy. Both a bold faced lie. Regardless of what they believed about the moral integrity of either teen, being so emotionally vulnerable would have made 'persuasion' quite easy. And Vishnu seemed to be a master of mindfucking. Pollux had given them the cliffsnotes version of how he created his daughters after all.

"Yet this is not the worst news." The hologram was solemn. The Earth's defenders, horrified by what she said next.

*I am bum bum bum...a line break!*

Evil cliffie after a long wait I know. Wait, how can this possibly get any worse? Trust me, it does...TTFN, reviews much loved yo! Sirensoundwave out.


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